The search to replace ousted Architectural Association director Eva Franch i Gilabert has made some progress after the organization named its official list of shortlisted candidates on Monday.

The Architects’ Journal is reporting that five names are being taken into consideration by the AA, which has been without a leader since the sacking of Franch following a close series of no-confidence votes in July of 2020.

Among the names are current AA faculty like Mark Morris and joint candidates John Palmesino and Ann-Sofi Rönnskog; the University of Cambridge’s Ingrid Schroder, Clancy Moore director Andrew Clancy, and Berkeley CED’s Jill Stoner.

The candidates are now subject to a vote that will produce an “advisory” set to be presented to the AA’s steering committee before a final name is announced in May. The winner will step into the role at the onset of the next academic year and serve a five-year term. 

Franch i Gilabert’s own tenure ended in controversy after just two short years as the first female director in the AA’s 175-year history. Nearly 200 architects signed an open letter against the AA’s decision, with many taking up the view that the row was an example of gender bias within the profession (though the organization eventual produced a detailed response in which two of its tutors alleged a “manifestation of destructive trends” on the part of the Catalan architect.)

Franch is currently employed as a visiting lecturer at Princeton.