You have taught at a wide range of international institutions. Given this experience, what strikes you as the most important role a tutor plays in the development of the contemporary student?
Architectural practice has expanded over the years and become much more complex. It’s no longer the case that a project simply involves the architect and the client. These days the architect works not only with the client, but also with a large network of specialists and advisors. At the same time, not only building and design techniques have expanded, but also the conceptual arrangements of projects; the practice no longer involves only pure architecture, but politics, fashion and the sciences also play an important role. Teaching architecture today means that you have to help students to focus on developing their individual talents on the one hand, but also teach them to choose very carefully within the range of pragmatic possibilities on the other.
Teaching techniques have changed. The lecturer no longer stands in front of a group of students but circulates and discusses work on an individual basis. Can you describe the benefits of this shift in teaching style as you have experienced?
At the Staedelschule we do teach students on a very individual basis. This kind of personalised dialogue encourages students to develop a more individual courage and style in their work, which is hard to achieve by teaching in group situations only. But whilst it is essential for this personal dialogue to take place, it is equally important to encourage intense critical discussion and this is best done in small groups. Johan Bettum and I like to do both; to approach teaching as the development of the individual, but also to combine this with professional direction and critical discussion.
If you look back to how you yourself were taught, how would you compare your own teaching methods today? Which changes have you introduced to your approach and why. Or which have you maintained, and why?
When I was at both the Rietveld Academy and the AA teaching was carried out in much the same way. The professional/personal approach was common to both institutions and the best teachers were to be found from within the practice. Fortunately this meant I could get close contact with these teachers and learn from them as practitioners. This is something I stimulate at the Staedelschule. You need to learn directly from the practice, but you also need to develop your imagination and a passion for that practice.
How does one approach the ‘Switching On and Off’ (of values) dichotomy in teaching? On the one hand encouraging experimentation, but on the other adhering to the practical and economic demands of architecture?
In a sense I think it has a lot to do with the timing of decision making within the design process. A good project will ultimately embody both values, ideally with each complimenting the other in terms of concept and functionality. But where, how and when decisions are made along the way is crucial. When teaching we try to look strategically and critically at selecting the moments when external, pragmatic influences begin to affect the internal regulations of an experiment; how these
can be incorporated in such a way that they become the most logical and efficient solution for the initial concept or physical apparatus of the primary, more exploratory phase of the design.
You didn’t start off studying Architecture, but instead progressed to the field in a somewhat organic way, and your own interests and influences remain incredibly varied. Do you encourage this wider sphere of interests at SAC?
Yes, and we also like to have students on the course who have different backgrounds. As it’s a post graduate course all our students are already architects, but in contrast to other post graduate courses, we don’t actually work on projects in the first year. Instead we do a lot of experimentation and research which is largely based on themes such as material research, the analysis of specific building typologies, design tools - and essentially encouraging the quality of working with these tools. We also like to stimulate theoretical depth by extensive reading and doing a lot of analytical work. However we prefer this research to have a broad base and not to be focused purely on abstract philosophical concepts, but instead to always combine this with design strategies. In the past we have looked at the fashion industry, car manufacturing, companies and how they operate and, more recently, at management tools. The subjects for research in this first year vary greatly, so widening the field of relevant references and influences is an inherent element of the course.
Recent graduates have expressed that an advantage of SAC is the small, ‘family’ scale of the course. Can you explain what the benefits of this scale are in your opinion?
At the Staedelschule we have developed a very close teaching style with the class and although not all the students are going to become lifelong friends, what is unusual is that the scale of the class means that they can really get to know us and our teaching style. In my previous experience at large institutions students have come up to me at the end of the course and said “I still don’t know you”, but this never happens at SAC. Perhaps this intense form of teaching stems from my interest in how music schools operate, where the one-to-one relationship between the music professor and his students is very close. For me this personal element is very important, - even if ultimately, given the nature of the practice today, one inevitably ends up playing in an orchestra – individual expertise is essential and this is something we always try to incorporate in our teaching methods.
Every year you invite a specialist in the field to present the Dean’s Honorary Lecture. Can you tell us something about the lecture and how you choose the speakers?
When I invite somebody for the Dean’s Honorary Lecture I make a very personal choice and for me it literally means honoring this person, in the sense that they are not only extremely important to the profession as a whole, but also to me personally. Previous lecturers have included Mohsen Mostafavi, Greg Lynn, Jeff Kipnis and now Brett Steele, each of whom have had a strong influence on my own work and are the top of their respective fields. However, although I may know them, I don’t always know their latest thinking and also want to share this with our students, not only in a passive way, but also through the critical discussions we have afterwards.
The timing of the Dean’s honorary lecture is also important, as it takes place during the end of year session when graduation projects are presented, so this also provides an opportunity for the invited lecturer to review the student’s work. I also chose the external examiners for the end of year session for the same reasons. This currently includes Sandford Kwinton, Beatriz Colomina, Mark Wigley and Jeff Kipnis, who are all leading figures in their fields and who are, in my opinion, the most relevant and important thinkers in architecture today.
At the end of year session one student is awarded the Günter Bock Prize. How do you determine the most outstanding project?
We always have in depth discussions about the projects with the external examiners. Sometimes an outstanding project is clear within minutes and the decision is made quickly, but at other times a heated debate ensues and it can take a few hours before a decision is reached. But inevitably the selection is based on the quality of the work, combined with the motivation and intelligence in the way the project has been designed.
The Staedelschule actively presents its work through exhibitions, many of which you have played an active role in. What is the importance of this form of exposure to the public during study?
At SAC we are indeed dedicated to creating possibilities for the students to present their work in galleries and exhibition spaces, such as the Wilma Tolksdorf Gallery, Vitra, the DAM and of course during the open days at the school. For us it is very important that students not only gain the experience of presenting their work in different contexts, but also that they can use these platforms to test their ideas on a wider public, rather than only to Johan, myself and the SAC tutors, who of course already know their thoughts and ideas in relation to their work. This kind of exposure and experience is essential to any young architect.
SAC is a very international course. What would you say were the benefits of a multi-national student body?
It’s extremely important. Currently we get a substantial number of applicants form Asia and over the years I realised that we shouldn’t only teach from an understanding of Western history and culture, but broaden the scope of our knowledge and research. I really like it when students inject elements of their own cultural and architectural history into the course, particularly as architecture is now such a global practice and our graduates could end up working on projects anywhere in the world. This global sharing of knowledge and influence is essential to architects today, so it almost goes without saying that the course should embrace it.
The Staedelschule actively presents its work through exhibitions, many of which you have played an active role in. What is the importance of this form of exposure to the public during study?
At SAC we are indeed dedicated to creating possibilities for the students to present their work in galleries and exhibition spaces, such as the Wilma Tolksdorf Gallery, Vitra, the DAM and of course during the open days at the school. For us it is very important that students not only gain the experience of presenting their work in different contexts, but also that they can use these platforms to test their ideas on a wider public, rather than only to Johan, myself and the SAC tutors, who of course already know their thoughts and ideas in relation to their work. This kind of exposure and experience is essential to any young architect.
SAC is a very international course. What would you say were the benefits of a multi-national student body?
It’s extremely important. Currently we get a substantial number of applicants form Asia and over the years I realised that we shouldn’t only teach from an understanding of Western history and culture, but broaden the scope of our knowledge and research. I really like it when students inject elements of their own cultural and architectural history into the course, particularly as architecture is now such a global practice and our graduates could end up working on projects anywhere in the world. This global sharing of knowledge and influence is essential to architects today, so it almost goes without saying that the course should embrace it.
In your opinion, what sets the Staedelchule course apart from it’s competitors?
That we are the best of course!
But in a subtle way. We are somewhat hidden and occupy a bit of a niche, which means that some students may find it difficult to find us. Whilst we do of course want the best applicants and hope that they will hear about us, we don’t pro-actively recruit or forge links with other universities. For us it is important that the ethos of the course sets it apart, rather than extensive marketing. Everything we do is based on individual relationships and the development of individual knowledge, so we want the class to appeal to dedicated and motivated architects who feel that this approach is right for them.
Staff at the school come from a wide range of professional and research fields. When putting together a body of staff and selecting visiting tutors, what do you consider to be essential?
For us it is essential to have a broad base of expertise. Sandford Kwinter is also an historian of literature for example, while Mark Wigley is a fantastic architecture historian who has been connected to the school for a long time. And I don’t know anybody who has written as well and so prolifically about architecture as Beatriz Colomina. So while there is a strong theoretical element amongst our staff, we balance this by inviting specialists from a variety of fields, such as fiber experts, biologists, product design engineers, material specialists etc.
What does the future hold for graduates from the Staedelschule, based on your experience up to now?
We work on strong career planning, because today the top offices only want the best post graduate architects. A large portion of our graduates from the last 3-4 years have gone on to have successful careers in some of the most prestigious practices in the world. But, some students will choose to go on to do PhDs, while others may follow an academic or artistic career. SAC isn’t about steering young architects in any one particular direction, but more about providing the best possible balance of essential theoretical and creative knowledge on an individual basis, along with pragmatic know how. The goal of the course is to provide the best possible basis for each individual to prepare them for whichever avenue they chose to pursue in the future.
So, what are your hopes for the SAC course in the future?
We are currently looking at the possibilities of setting up a PHD in art and architecture. The Staedelschule art school is an extremely well renowned institution, headed by the rector Daniel Birnbaum and with highly successful graduates, such as the artists Wolfgang Tillmans and Tobias Rehberger. Somewhat at the other end of the scale, we are also very interested in setting up a specialised course focusing on prognostics where the business side of the practice is concerned. This course would focus on project management; cost control, business development etc. Essentially we would like to expand what SAC has to offer, but in terms of providing variety in specialisation which encompasses the choices available to young architects, rather than changing the nature and ethos of the existing architecture class.