Archi.ru: You have a great teaching experience. Has the situation in architectural education changed during your career? And what is your forecast for the near future?
Caroline Bose: Of course, the situation is changing all the time, and there are many methods of teaching architecture. But there are two main systems that always exist in parallel. On the one hand, these are technical universities and academies, on the other, there are the best universities where you can get more "advanced" education, for example, Columbia University and Harvard in the USA, possibly also the Architectural Association in London. Education in universities of the second type is much more flexible, there you can change the program and constantly keep in touch with practice, inviting actively working architects as professors. Technical universities and academies are not so free, so they need to make an effort to stay connected with practice. And this can easily happen and will be especially harmful in the current situation, when not only professional practice, but the whole world is changing rapidly. Therefore, now the main challenge for the teacher is to keep up with the constant changes in architectural practice.
How would you describe your teaching method? Has it also changed over time?
Yes, and significantly. For example, 8 years ago, when I was teaching at Princeton, my focus was on organizing - program, content, circulation, construction - into a single effective unit. And now the center of gravity has shifted away from the actual design: we must reflect on the problems facing architecture now, and not necessarily in direct connection with the project. Of course, students still need to learn how to design, but they must also learn how to solve real-life problems that we face in architectural practice, as well as gain knowledge of modern building technologies necessary for the implementation of projects.
Research has now become extremely important for any architectural workshop. How can students be prepared for this activity? After all, it is impossible to give them knowledge of economics, sociology, psychology, etc. in parallel with training in design.
Yes, it is impossible to teach everything at once, especially because scientific knowledge is constantly updated, but we must teach students to learn, think, invent. To acquaint them with different types of methodology of thinking and analysis of approaches to design. These skills will enable them to work productively throughout their lives.
Are students ready to start their own workshop at the time of graduation?
Nowadays, small bureaus have a very difficult time. Workshops in general are getting larger and smaller firms are constantly under pressure. I do not think that students are ready for independence after graduation: if they open their own office at that moment, it will always remain very small, with very small projects - especially in the current financial situation. Therefore, I would recommend that they first work in a large workshop in order to gain experience - and also because it is in such firms that they are now engaged in the most interesting projects.
So, research is now central to architectural practice. How is this activity organized in your workshop?
We have four scientific platforms, and each employee is engaged in research, among other things. This activity is fully integrated into projects, all the knowledge gained is related to practice, and this work is much more the core of the practice than the design or the project itself. We are talking about very specific knowledge that is obtained for the implementation of the project.
Many architects face difficulties as soon as the construction of their building begins: it turns out that the budget is not enough, there are problems with technologies or regulations that have a negative impact on the project. And you have to find a way to adapt to this situation and solve these problems so that the project does not suffer - a skill that many architects never master. They cannot operate under constraints, leading to compromise or project failure, or over budget.
However, we can learn to work much more thoughtfully, be flexible and adaptable, but also understand what can and cannot be changed in a project. We gained a lot of knowledge, often very special technical knowledge, in the process of working on projects, and thanks to this it is much easier for us now to constantly invent and experiment - staying within a moderate budget and observing a short time frame.
Very interesting! We often hear complaints from architects about circumstances, but they rarely offer solutions to such problems.
This is true, but we had to work very hard, implement a lot of projects to learn these lessons.
You have built a lot around the world, you have taught at universities in different countries. The architectural profession is becoming more and more global. How can you adapt to this situation? It can be challenging to work within a single country in a well-known environment, but at the international level it becomes much more complicated.
Yes, it is not easy, but also very interesting. We really enjoy working in different countries of the world, because it would be very boring to always act within our limitations, our expectations. It's great to push yourself to move forward and keep learning, to be forced to invent new solutions at times. If we stay within our comfort zone for too long, we will get stuck there and do nothing more interesting. It's part of the culture of architecture - to push yourself forward
That is, in your opinion, globalization is a positive phenomenon?
Yes, very positive and also useful. [Working abroad], I learned how much we architects have in common: this is also a part of globalization. When I work with colleagues in China, Russia, or Korea or Italy, we speak a common language, which is our profession, we have a common goal, and this is a wonderful experience. I think this will become very important in the future: we will all have to solve the main problems of our world together, overcome crises, primarily the ecological one. Therefore, I am sure that it is very important to learn how to discuss, exchange [ideas], and cooperate.
What is the main challenge for the architectural profession right now?
This is undoubtedly a challenge to “sustainability”. We must stop wasting resources, and we must build more durable buildings designed to adapt and transform, instead of buildings that have to be demolished as soon as the need arises to change something. We need to think about how to come to a healthier life for people and the environment, a better future.
But not everything can be changed with the well-intentioned architect. There are also politicians and businessmen. How big is the influence of the architect now?
I think we can do more than we think. In some of our projects, we analyzed the relationships between stakeholders and received conclusions that changed the perception of the project. For example, in Asia we have built several
department stores, the main thing in which is the public space within them. An interior was created there with a cultural, dynamic component, reminiscent of a museum. And this became possible because we came up with and visualized this idea, and then we were able to interest the customer with it. Therefore, as you say, you can complain and think to yourself “the customer will not allow me to do this,” but you can take the initiative yourself, offer your vision - reality may well obey him.
Do you have an art historian education - how has it enriched your architectural practice? How important is this science and academic discipline for architecture students?
It is very important to know history: for an architect, it is a living instrument. It also promotes a more analytical, thoughtful approach to work. I have already spoken about the relationship between theory and practice [in education], but this is a twofold situation. Theory should not be taught dryly in universities - like reading books, taking notes and taking an exam - on the contrary, it should be a theory of practice. This I think is the most interesting topic in architecture.
