Foundations of formal study of architecture for many years emerged from distinct philosophical movements in history, the most significant two of which were the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France and the Bauhaus in Germany. The Ecole des Beaux-Arts evolved through a number of transformations that began in 1648 when it was founded by Cardinal Mazarin as the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. Mazarin’s successor, Colbert, subsequently established an array of academies beginning with the study of Dance in 1661, History and Archaeology in 1663, Sciences in 1666, Advanced Study of the Arts, also in 1666, Music in 1669 and the Academie Royale d’ Architecture in 1671. 1 Overall Pedagogy of the school was concentrated on studying classical arts and the architecture of the Greeks and Romans. Drawing was especially emphasized by way of imitating those considered to be “the masters”.2The platform of the school was a duality of art and architecture until architectural education separated from the program in 1968 following the Paris riots and student rebellions of spring of that year. 3Architectural education continues to exist today in the Ecole des BeauxArts. The Bauhaus Art School flourished in
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Germany from 1919 until 1933. The school was in Weimar from 1919 to 1925, Dessau from 1925 to 1932 and Berlin 1932 to 1933 when the Nazis closed the school. Thereafter, the school operated briefly in Chicago, 1937-1938. Directors of the school were Walter Gropius, 1919 – 1928, Hannes Meyer, 1928 – 1030, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1930 – 1933 and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, 1937-1938. Whereas Ideologies of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts centered on drawing, painting, sculpture, jewelry making and architecture, ideologies of the Bauhaus focused on the integration of art with science and economics with a mission of a new sense of functional design. 4 Schools of architecture globally have embraced concepts of education founded on those of the Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Bauhaus and have likewise spun off numerous adaptations and reinterpretations of architectural education. Methods of teaching architecture are and should be constantly changing to meet the critical needs of the changes in society.

The influence of liberal ideology in society produced numerous casualties among which was the general erosion of rigorous standards of education as well as faculty performance and
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curriculum development from elementary school through college whereby standards of excellence were routinely compromised. Toward the late 1960’s and early 1970’s foundations of architectural education and criticism became seriously diluted. Competition for excellence in studio work was frowned upon and “juries” of student work became “too harsh”. Political correctness was rapidly creeping in and terminology such as “reviews” of student projects seemed less threatening than the term “juries” and many studio instructors believed it was better to have a uniformity of student work in lieu of a ranking of the projects. “Feel good” courses permeated the curricula and faculty proposals for reduced teaching loads and being away from the school frequently became available and acceptable. Was it coincidence that grade inflation, relaxed standards for student and faculty performance and general rejection of competition among students for excellent achievements that permeated schools as attitudes of the “Great Society” emerged? I would argue that it was no coincidence whatsoever. The “Great Society” changed the country in more ways than imaginable some for the good, some not and
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standards of excellence in many work places and education continue to erode as a result.

There was a substantial decline in the rigors of Architectural education in the UT at Austin School of Architecture since the era of a group of faculty known as the “Texas Rangers” due to three major reasons: One: The school lacked a strong, unified platform of architectural education. Whether one agreed with the premises and platforms set forth by the “Texas Rangers”, they had a plausible pedagogical model. Since that period, the school under the direction of numerous deans essentially embraced the ideology of “anyone can teach anything they wish” (regardless of their qualifications or lack thereof). Two: Liberal ideology permeated the university and the school from the late 1960’s forward to the point that there are little to no serious consequences for poor faculty and student performance or non-performance. Grade inflation was rampant and still is; competition among students and studios was discouraged and almost non-existent; many marginal students were given a “pass” for mediocre work and many design reviews were often more
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influenced by political correctness than effective criticism. Three: The School of Architecture administration along with the university administration is loath to hold faculty’s and dean’s feet to the fire for mediocre performance. Dean’s reviews pay mere lip service to close examination of performance without holding deans to rigorous standards of academic excellence. A great deal of emphasis is placed on a dean’s ability to raise substantial funds for a school or college and rightfully so. Evidence of successful fund raising, however, often tends to outweigh expectations of performance in other areas of perceived academic achievement.

These are reflections on architectural education from the viewpoint of one who was an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture and later joined the faculty of that school teaching architecture for twenty-four years. This book attempts to underscore the personality of the school based on personal experience and observations from undergraduate years as a student beginning 1957 through years as a faculty member until retirement from teaching in 2001. Since that time, the school continues to undergo many
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transformations and may in fact be among the most prominent of schools of architecture throughout the United States or it could be among the least prominent. History must decide.

1 The architecture of the Ecole des BeauxArts, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Arthur Drexler, … Essays by Richard Chafee, Arthur Drexler, Neil Levine, David Van Zanten, MIT Press, 1977, 2 Ibid 3 Ibid 4 Bauhaus, Magdalena Droste, Taschen Press, 2006 1 The Texas Rangers, Notes From an Architectural Underground, Alexander Caragonne, MIT, 1994




1 The architecture of the Ecole des BeauxArts, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Arthur Drexler, … Essays by Richard Chafee, Arthur Drexler, Neil Levine, David Van Zanten, MIT Press, 1977, p. 61

2 Ibid 3 Ibid
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4 Bauhaus, Magdalena Droste, Taschen Press, 2006