The uniform teaching programme of many schools will create “tasteless chickens”, says Tim Ronalds; while Richard Hayward argues that schools remain almost entirely free-range
Working as an external examiner at schools of architecture in recent years, I have been struck by the scale and uniformity of many of the teaching programmes. One sees year groups of 100 or 120 students all doing the same project on the same site — for a cheese factory, or an antiquarian archive, or nursery school.

The effect of this on students, teachers and the creative and intellectual life of architecture schools is worrying. The idea of crits that go on for days, of teaching that must consist of endlessly repeated tutorials, and the distinctly limited range of conversation that must result, is appalling.

This is factory farming and no matter how well designed the diet, compared with exploring in the open, sceptical air is likely to produce tasteless chicken.
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