When ARCHITECT interviewed architect and dean Deborah Berke, FAIA, this year’s recipient of the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education, we asked her what she thought was the most unfortunate reality about architectural education today. Her answer was short and simple: “Cost,” she said. “It alone is discouraging to anyone with the talent and interest in becoming an architect—that your salary at your first job out of school will not be enough to allow you to pay off your loans.” She also pointed out that the cost of architectural education is a huge barrier to addressing the diversity and equity issues in the field. I couldn’t agree with her more.
Student loan debt statistics in 2022 show that there are about 44 million borrowers who collectively owe near $1.7 trillion. Student loan debt is now the second-highest consumer debt category, making up 11% of the national total debt, compared to mortgage debt’s 69%, according to educationdata.org. More than 7 million people, one of every five borrowers with payments due, have defaulted or failed to pay, sometimes for years or even decades.
Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business, has been critical of the higher education “business,” outlining how in the past 40 years, college tuition has increased 1,400%. And while higher education is the most important industry in America, providing upward economic mobility and improving quality of life—studies show that college graduates lead longer, healthier lives—there don’t seem to be any easy fixes coming soon to address the cost of education.
One trend emerging from the pandemic, however, is the popularity of online learning. In fact, the virtual education platform Coursera reported that more than 20 million new learners registered for courses in 2021, equaling the company’s total expansion during the three years prior. The way we learn is changing, whether it’s through AI-based learning, on-demand content, or the rise of massive open online courses (MOOCs) and skill stacking (instead of mastering one skill, you build a skill set). As in-person conferences during the pandemic were replaced by Zoom meetings and online conferences, design schools and museums have done a better job of sharing their relevant content to wider audiences online. For example, the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal has an excellent archive of past talks that have been held at the museum, like one covering what domestic life in outer space was like during the 1970s, and another revisiting the work of Swedish architect Sigurd Lewerentz, a key Modernist figure. Recently, the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Just City Lab, led by architect and urban planner Toni L. Griffin, and the Mayors’ Institute on City Design shared online the “Mayors Imagining the Just City” conference , which gathered mayors nationwide to discuss creating an equitable recovery from the pandemic, as well as providing actionable ideas for city leaders and designers.
ARCHITECT has also launched the online series Studio Sessions—monthly conversations with design and architecture thought leaders sharing ideas and best practices on topics including innovative residential design, the advantages of using Tilt-Up concrete, and embedding equity in design with recent guests Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, of HOK and Rosa Sheng, FAIA, of SmithGroup. And, in a shameless plug, visit Hanley Wood University—ARCHITECT's sister online education platform—to choose from hundreds of free continuing education and training courses for design and construction professionals.
This article first appeared in the May/June 2022 issue of ARCHITECT.
