351 Abstract
The teaching of professional practice has historically been separated from the design studio and seen as a means of training students for the office so that they earn their keep in the shortest time possible after graduation. The courses have usually been run by outside practitioners with little involvement with design studio pedagogy.
An analysis of registration candidate’s log books shows an average of 5.4 years experience between graduation and registration and over that time an average of 440 hours of contract administration.
Graduates clearly do not need to be trained for contract
administration when they are not required to do this work until after registration, which is likely to be at least 5 years into their architectural career. Any training would be out of date by the time it is required, however if the principles or theory of practice are incorporated into the curriculum it will be relevant for much longer.
Also, Professional Indemnity Insurers require that unregistered staff not be given responsibility to administer contracts.
The proposition put forward in this paper is that only the theoretical aspects of professional practice should be covered in the academic curriculum and this should be more closely integrated with the design studio.
We need to educate students to manage change not memorise a set of practice notes. Students need to be encouraged to apply their creativity to new forms of practice and management. This is best done if professional studies are run with a series of parallel design projects where the emphasis is on practice theory, design process and implementation.
The practical and applied aspects of practice are better dealt with after graduation when graduates prepare for registration and are actively involved in the work place.
The practical and applied aspects of practice are better dealt with after graduation when graduates prepare for registration and are actively involved in the work place.
In my experience and from observation on many National Visiting Panels, Professional Practice teaching is seen as a necessity to satisfy the requirements to gain recognition by the Australian Institute of Architects and accreditation by Registration Boards rather than an integral part of the design process. The staff are usually sessional practitioners who do not participate in the collegiate environment of the schools and are quite distant from the activities of the design studio.
The proposition put forward in this paper is that only the theoretical aspects of professional practice should be covered in the academic curriculum and this should be more closely integrated with the design studio.
In reaching this position I analysed the logbooks submitted by candidates seeking registration in Victoria in April 2013. There were 115 candidates of which 38% were female and 62% male. The average age was 29. The average length of experience was 5.45 years after graduation. This is shown in Figure 1. The average number of logged hours was 4,798 and the average number of hours spent on contract
administration was 440, only 9% of work experience time. Figure 2 illustrates the breakdown of time spent for each of the mandatory competencies required for registration. As can be seen on Figure 3, 70% of candidates have less than 500 hours experience in contract administration over the first 5.45 years of their career.
Figure 1: YEARS BETWEEN GRADUATION AND APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION Victorian Registration Candidates, April 2013.
Figure 2: PRACTICE EXPERIENCE RECORDED IN LOG BOOKS Victorian Registration Candidates, April 2013.
Figure 3: CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION EXPERIENCE Victorian Registration Candidates, April 2013.
My interpretation of this data is that time spent training students in the routines of office practice and contract administration is wasted because these skills are not required for the first few years of employment and by the time the graduate is registered, new systems will be in place.
354 355 What would a new model look like?
I suggest that, using the mathematics analogy, professional practice should be divided into ‘pure and applied’ streams. The theory or ‘pure’ stream should be included and expanded in the academy curriculum and the ‘applied’ component picked up after graduation and before registration.
A similar model is available with the legal profession. The Leo Cussen Centre for Law provides a Graduate Diploma in Legal practice and describes its mission as ‘beyond theory’. The practical training course (PTC) trains graduates for admission to the legal profession. The course is designed to achieve understanding and competence in the National Competency Standards for entry-level lawyers.
If the training role was removed from the professional practice curriculum the theory aspects of practice could be expanded and integrated into the design program.
I propose that the design studio have two streams working in parallel. One would involve the existing design studio and the other would involve design projects incorporating the practice themes.
At Monash and RMIT, I have experimented with a theme-based curriculum applied to design exercises done in parallel with the design studio. The themes include; risk, time, quality control, ethics, judgment, responsibility, persuasion, cost control, external controls, and life style. Group design work explores these themes and applies them to design assignments.
The RMIT course provides 3x1 Semester courses. I teach the final year which provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate the knowledge gained from the previous courses and develop skills in research, group work and creative problem solving applied to a design challenge.
Both courses could be easily converted to the model demonstrated in this paper but are presently designed to satisfy the accreditation process.
Most would agree that it is desirable for students to spend time in an office during their course to observe the design process in action and the practical challenges involved with converting a concept into a completed project, Unfortunately many students are unable to obtain this experience.
A survey of final year students at RMIT University and Monash University in Semester one of 2013 showed that 33% and 47% respectively have not set foot in an
architect’s office. A summary of experience is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: OFFICE EXPERIENCE OF FINAL YEAR STUDENTS, RMIT University and Monash University Students, 2013, (Note: No distinction is made between part time and full time work.)
The problem with the training approach to professional practice teaching is that the curriculum is based on how things are done now and in the past rather than how they will be done in the future. The curriculum has also been based on how things
‘should’ be done which seldom aligns with how things are actually done in practice.
I tell my students that if they follow every paper trail process established by the AIA Practice Notes or Acumen, they will go broke.
So we run the risk of teaching the history of practice and not preparing students for the future. We need to educate students to manage change, not memorize a set of notes. No two firms use the same systems for running a practice or a project so it is futile training them to follow a rigid management system.
In my office I prefer to introduce new graduates to my way of running a practice and projects and do not expect them to arrive with the necessary skills in this area. My experience has been that new graduates are intelligent and pick up procedures very quickly.
CASE STUDY 2
At RMIT, a group design project involved a management plan for rising water levels at Middle Park. The plan required creative solutions, political and cost implications, and in this instance a sustainable solution. Figure 7 shows the extent of the problem and Figure 8 shows the final solution.
Figure 7
Figure 8 CASE STUDY 1
Students at Monash were asked to prepare design guidelines for new development at the recently rezoned Fishermen’s Bend area in Melbourne. They then had to prepare a design to demonstrate the application of these guidelines. Figure 5 shows a master plan with zoning controls and a canal solution to address the projected rising water levels for the site. Figure 6 shows one of the many control diagrams produced for the site.
Figure 6 Figure 5
358 359 What steps are needed to make a change?
It would first be necessary to establish a viable structure for graduates to build on their postgraduate work experience to satisfy the competency standards required for registration. This could be provided by the AIA, a private provider, an academy or all three.
With this in place, the AACA and the AIA would need to be convinced that a reduction in professional practice training and an increase in professional practice education would better prepare students for future practice. The argument would be as follows:
1. Graduates have only limited involvement with contract administration in the first 5-6 years of their career.
2. Students need to be adaptable to a wide range of future practice options.
3. Practice management and contract administration is best learnt on the job.
4. A similar system works for the legal profession.
5. Design ability is the point of difference between architecture graduates and those of allied professions. This creativity needs to be fully exploited and applied to all aspects of the architect’s role. It is better to use the limited time available at the academy to develop these skills rather than train students for the present
workplace.
6. Current practice methods are not likely to be relevant by the time students are ready for registration.
CASE STUDY 3
This year, students at RMIT were asked to find a church site with untapped
development potential. Figures 9 and 10 show the work of a group who identified a need for independent living accommodation and used the site of a church in Toorak.
The work involved analysis of design options plus a costed program for implementation and a strategy to sell the idea to the church.
Figure 9
Figure 10
Biography
B.Arch. University of Melbourne M.Arch. University of Toronto M.B.A.
University of Western Ontario Senior Counsellor AIA Life Fellow AIA Coordinator of Examiners ARBV Tribunal Member ARBV RAE/
RGE Interviewer for AACA Member, Committee for setting National Architectural Practice Examination paper for AACA Member, various National Visiting Panels in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. Advisor to New Zealand Registration Board on registration examination process. Bruce currently teaches Professional Practice 3 and International Practice at RMIT University and Professional Studies 1 and 2 at Monash University. His working hours are divided between practice (70%), teaching (20%) and research (10%).
Endnotes
1 Figures 1,2,3&4. Bruce Allen. Analysis of 115 log books submitted by Victorian registration candidates, April 2013
2 Figures 5 and 6. N. Krysiak, T.Le, A.Shaw, J.Slaone, and K. Walter. ‘Lorimer Canals’
(Student project, Monash University, 2013
3 Figures 7 and 8. J.Wood, M.Brady, T.Morgan, L.Bright-Davies. ‘Bargurbia Floating Suburbs’(Student project, RMIT University, 2009)
4 Figures 9 and 10. J. Chidester, E.Wilson, J.McCrimmon, J.McDowall, H.Carracher, G.
Karavasil, C.Steele. ‘St Peter Catholic Church, Toorak’ (Student project, RMIT University, 2013