Editor's Note: I invited some eminent architectural educators, practitioners, and thinkers to write a brief essay on the future of architectural education. I've been collecting thoughts from people who believe that the present-day system is bankrupt and needs a complete overhaul. That ongoing series is being hosted on ArchNewsNow. This topic has begun to expand beyond capacity, however, and so I gathered a dozen new essays together in the journal New Design Ideas. Since the two series treat the same topic, they ought to be linked so that readers get an idea of the broad interest in and frustration with our educational system. Some really great authors have already contributed, and more respected names are in the pipeline. The concerns brought forward are truly international, as can be seen from the authors' locations.

PUNE DECLARATION ON THE STATE OF ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA. Pune, 2020.

These two series of essays are meant to spur action from those in the profession who favor reforming architectural education and practice. The initiative came at the right time, just before a historic meeting among concerned educators and practitioners took place in Pune, India, in November of 2019. Hopefully this movement is taking off, to be joined by convergent efforts towards genuine reform — as opposed to previous attempts that either fizzled out, or were simply lukewarm re-arrangements of the existing system with its manifold deficiencies.
 

Chandavarkar, Prem. Background to the Pune Declaration. Bangalore, 2020.

First Series. On the Future of Architectural Education, Edited by Nikos Salingaros and Kristen Richards. ArchNewsNow.com, 2019.

Is architectural education bankrupt? After experiencing over the years how recent graduates think and perform, I tend to think so. What they are programmed to do (and not do) after they have finished their studies is alarming. A number of professionals and observant persons believe that there is something deeply wrong with architecture education today. And that we should take action leading to its complete restructuring. Yet practicalities remain vague, whereas interested students and young architects wish to learn very specific knowledge that will make them into a better person and practitioner.

Breaking the mold where global architecture education is controlled by a handful of people in the wealthiest nations, sitting in the most prestigious institutions, I wanted this project to be as inclusive and universal as possible. I reached out to individuals around the world who share my concerns about the ability of present-day architectural education to prepare architects in creating a human environment. While the proposals vary in details, they share a fundamental humanity largely absent from what we teach students today. This series of essays will hopefully provide a catalyst for universal reform.
1.

Salingaros, Nikos A. Lesson Plan #1: "Signs versus Symptoms": A Reply to the Open Letter from British Architecture Students Calling for Curriculum Change In On the Future of Architectural Education, Edited by Kristen Richards. ArchNewsNow.com, 2019.
2.

Dickinson, Duo. Lesson Plan #2: A Time of Change In On the Future of Architectural Education, Edited by Nikos A. Salingaros and Kristen Richards. ArchNewsNow.com, 2019.
3.

Boys-Smith, Nicholas, and Roger Scruton. Lesson Plan #3: Beauty and Sustainability in Architectural Education In On the Future of Architectural Education, Edited by Nikos A. Salingaros and Kristen Richards. ArchNewsNow.com, 2019.
4.

Sussman, Ann, and A. Vernon Woodworth. Lesson Plan #4: Response to Open Letter for Curriculum Change: A New, Biological Approach to Architecture In On the Future of Architectural Education, Edited by Nikos A. Salingaros and Kristen Richards. ArchNewsNow.com, 2019.
5.

Beri, Shirish. Lesson Plan #5: Letter from an architect to the gurus [teachers] and chelas [disciples] of architecture In On the Future of Architectural Education, Edited by Nikos Salingaros and Kristen Richards. ArchNewsNow.com, 2019. See also the unedited version
6.

Mathias Agbo Jr. Lesson Plan #6: Teacher, Don't Teach Them Nonsense: Reforming Architecture's Broken Education In On the Future of Architectural Education, Edited by Kristen Richards and Nikos A. Salingaros. arc, 2019.
7.

Dalrymple, Theodore. Lesson Plan #7: An Implicit Rather than Explicit Model for Teaching Architecture In On the Future of Architectural Education, Edited by Kristen Richards and Nikos Salingaros. ArchNewsNow.com, 2019.
8.

Brussat, David. Lesson Plan #8: Petition of the British Architecture School Inmates In On the Future of Architectural Education, Edited by Kristen Richards and Nikos Salingaros. ArchNewsNow.com, 2020.
9.

Alexander, Christopher. Lesson Plan #9: Ideas on Architectural Education, Edited by Kristen Richards and Nikos Salingaros. ArchNewsNow.com, 2020.
10.

Córdova-Ramírez, Miguel. Lesson Plan #10: Life in Ornament, Edited by Kristen Richards and Nikos Salingaros. ArchNewsNow.com, 2020.

Second Series. "A Series on Architectural Education." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019).

Original Articles: With this issue of New Design Ideas, I wish to initiate a new tradition of gathering important opinions on a timely topic. Some readers may be aware that a revolution is brewing around the world, questioning the way we teach architecture. It might not be long before radical re-structuring of our educational system will need to be implemented by common consent. More and more educators and practitioners are getting involved in this debate (Brady, 2017; Budds & Zellner, 2016; Griffiths, 2019; Salingaros, 2019; Salingaros et al., 2019). I invited some world authorities to write an opinion piece on the future of architectural education for the US online magazine Arch News Now (Dalrymple, 2019) [Seven essays are already published, and reprinted by Architexturez (Patterns Digital Library, 2019)].
1.

Jiang, Bin. "Alexander’s wholeness as the scientific foundation of sustainable urban design and planning." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 81-98.
2.

Terry, Francis and Nir Buras. "Building for the future: Seeing building materials in terms of weathering and longevity." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 99-112.
3.

Keswani, Kiran. "Urban design studio pedagogy: Thinking about informality." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 113-123.
Opinion: As this movement is growing rapidly, I would also like to publish a complementary series of invited essays here. I therefore invited authors with whose work I am familiar to contribute their thoughts on this crucial topic. As opinion pieces, these short contributions did not go through the normal external refereeing process. Nevertheless, I personally curated these essays and invariably suggested edits before accepting them for publication. Education reform is necessary to train a new generation of young architects who will re-shape the built environment to a more human scale. We need solutions to both the looming sustainability crisis, and the dehumanization of global society. The ultimate goal of this enterprise is to drastically change the way we design and build, and I hope that New Design Ideas can lead the world in this monumental task.
1.

Chandavarkar, Prem. "A Pedagogy-Centred Curriculum." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 124-129.
2.

Curl, James Stevens. "Suggested reforms of architectural education." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 130-134.
3.

Dengle, Narendra. "For relevance and beauty in architecture." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 135-138.
4.

Donnola, Silvina. "Calling for attention." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 139-140.
5.

Downton, Paul. "Awesome architecture versus Biophilia in an age of distraction." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 141-144.
6.

Ganju, MN Ashish. "Our spiritual universe exists within the self. So, how do we use it to shape our world?" New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 145-147.
7.

Khan, Smita, and Habeeb Khan. "Nemesis in the genesis: Reforming architectural education in India." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 148-153.
8.

Mehaffy, Michael W. "Architectural education: Still training tailors for the empire’s new clothes." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 154-158.
9.

Moein, Saman. "What was taught and what was not learned." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 159-163.
10.

Balagtas, Catherine Ryan. "Actions for elevating the experience of architecture: A design challenge of the 21st century." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 164-168.
11.

Rybczynski, Witold. "A very brief note on architectural reality." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 168-170.
12.

Shah, Kirtee. "Architecture practice and architecture education in India need a major rethink." New Design Ideas 3, no. 2 (2019): 171-174.

Second Series, continued. "A Series on Architectural Education." New Design Ideas 4, no. 1 (2020).

Editor's Note: The series of essays on Architectural Education is drawing more and more interest worldwide, especially since the Pune Declaration in India, which is highly relevant to the entire world. I am therefore continuing to pursue the parallel series of articles on the topic. ArchNewsNow is continuing to publish short essays on the future of architectural education, and I am also inviting Opinion pieces that are appearing in the journal New Design Ideas. The pandemic has revealed in a dramatic manner the insufficiency of  present-day architectural academia. Official architectural culture has been totally unable to provide comfortable living spaces and environments for billions of people who have had to be confined. The theoretical basis of industrial modernism is bankrupt: it was always meant to provide extractive profits for a small group, instead of living environments for all the users. — Nikos Salingaros.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES
1.

Dawson, Jaap. "The grail serves the grail king: the crux of the nature of order." New Design Ideas 4, no. 2 (2020): 4-23.
2.

Vahdat, Vahid, and Maryam Mansoori. "Architectural education in the age of the intelligent machine." New Design Ideas 4, no. 2 (2020): 50-57.

OPINION
1.

Aumjaud, Sameerah, and Zaheer Allam. "Decolonising the architectural education narrative will render more inclusive and culturally appropriate design solutions." New Design Ideas 4, no. 2 (2020): 58-60.
2.

Bembel, Irina. "Beauty as an ethical concept." New Design Ideas 4, no. 2 (2020): 61-64.
3.

Borda-de-Água, Luís. "How scientific attitudes can help get architecture out of its present mess: three simple rules to follow." New Design Ideas 4, no. 2 (2020): 65-67.

Annexure.

Relevant essays on architecture education that are not included in either of these two series, although they link to them. They are listed on this page so readers don't have to have to go to different pages to pick up different pieces of our team's work.
1.

Salingaros, Nikos, Mathias Agbo, Jr., Duo Dickinson, Paul F. Downton, Michael W. Mehaffy, Yodan Rofè, Catherine Ryan Balagtas, Ann Sussman, and A. Vernon Woodworth. Architecture Programs Need a Change: Put People First — Not ‘Art’. The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, 2019.
2.

Salingaros, Nikos, Change the NAAB Conditions for Architectural Accreditation!. Common Edge, 2019.

See also …