Current challenges in architectural education
Point Vélo © LAST / EPFL / O. Wavre
In its April-May 2024 issue, Construction & Bâtiment magazine devotes an article to the current challenges facing architectural education. In a world facing many changes, particularly related to climatic, ecological, and social issues, the changing face of the discipline is combined with a teaching approach that seeks to strike a balance between theory, practice, and critical thinking. This article reflects the views of two EPFL students, Camille Rieux and Solène Guisan, and two EPFL professors, Emmanuel Rey and Corentin Fivet.
The profound changes occurring in our contemporary society are not leaving future architects unconcerned. Climate challenges, ecological protection, the development of urban spaces, inclusive architecture, and social issues are all themes that are currently at the heart of students' preoccupations.
“To me, as to a large number of the students around me, the priority lies in a more sustainable and better thought-out architecture. Renovating existing buildings, choosing more local materials, and paying greater attention to the development of outdoor spaces are the main values I'd like to implement in my future practice", explained Camille Rieux. A point of view that echoes Solène Guisan's comments: “It's becoming essential to think of architecture in terms of its environment, to find solutions that are specific to a given location, whether in terms of a building's orientation or a reflection on new construction methods, while keeping in mind the idea of comfort for users”.
These values, shared by a majority of tomorrow's architects, are now being addressed in a variety of ways in the teaching of the discipline. Professors Emmanuel Rey, head of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) and Corentin Fivet, head of the Structural Xploration Lab (SXL), have unequivocally observed a real evolution in the academic world over the last fifteen years, focusing more and more on the question of sustainability through the dual medium of theory and practice.
“In the context of climatic urgency, quite a few themes related to the architectural discipline are finding a growing place in teaching. These include the impact of buildings on the landscape, the transformation of existing buildings, the consideration of environmental and climatic issues in architectural design processes, and, more broadly, the search for properly commensurate resources deployed in the project", explains Emmanuel Rey.