At the time of choosing an institute, I had two main criteria: an interesting, in-demand specialty and the quality of education. About London AA (Architectural Association School of Architecture), I heard from my teacher in architectural design at RUDN Sheikh-Abdul Karim in response to my question: "What, in your opinion, is the best institution of higher education in the UK for an architect?" This was the starting point. The list of master's specialties at that time consisted of six courses, among which two seemed to me the most attractive. These are Sustainable Environmental Design (SED) and Emerging Technologies. For a long time, the first course remained a mystery to me, since I did not manage to find an exhaustive translation of the word sustainable into Russian. In the end, fearing unnecessary mathematical calculations, I chose "sustainable design". If I only knew what awaits me!
As a safety net, I have chosen two more universities with similar directions, these are the Chelsea College of Arts and the London Metropolitan University (London Met). The Bartlett school was excluded from the equation almost immediately due to its excessive bureaucracy (for example, the letter of recommendation in support of the applicant had to be sent by the author himself, and the tear-off part of the envelope had to be signed by his hand: it seemed to me too much).
I interviewed at Chelsea College at an agency that specializes in education abroad. A representative of the university came to their Moscow office, in my case it was one of the faculty of photography, who considered my four years of experience in the Moscow architectural bureau insufficient, and my portfolio unsuitable for the level of their master's program. He suggested that I first take a preparatory course, the cost of which was close to the cost of an annual master's degree. That is, this option has become twice as expensive.
Without thinking twice, I put together my portfolio (not having a single sustainable project), a motivation letter, three letters of recommendation, a bachelor's degree in architecture from RUDN University, and I took it all to AA myself. At the time of submitting the documents, I had already missed the opportunity to apply for any grant, because, like everyone else in England, this needs to be done for a very long time. In my case, if the studies began in September, the application had to be submitted in January, that is, nine months before the start of the training program. A. A. has its own list of various grants and scholarships, which on average cover one third of the cost of a year of study. At the same time, I know for sure that some of my classmates paid for their studies at the expense of grants issued by the governments of their countries.
I didn’t have time to apply at the London Met, because already on April 1, 2009 I received a coveted letter from A. A. informing me that I was accepted and in September I could start studying if by that time I had passed the IELTS (knowledge of English) with an average score of 6.5 and pay 1/3 of the cost of a year of study.
The SED course I have chosen is offered in two lengths: 12 months (Master of science) and 16 months (Master of architecture). The first, more theoretical, consists of three semesters and ends with an impressive dissertation. The second - one semester longer, also includes a dissertation, and after that it is also necessary to pass the project, that is, this course is more practical and requires more practical experience. However, your choice can be adjusted during the school year. So, several people from our course changed Master of science to Master of architecture and vice versa after the start of their studies.
I chose the Master of Science course. The first two semesters, the curriculum is designed for full immersion in the subject: lectures by invited architects and former students, seminars on a huge number of new computer programs and special equipment.
At this time, the main work takes place in groups of four. Every two weeks, the group makes interim reports on their work in front of teachers and invited specialists, which helps to polish the project in the process of working on it. The result is a group project on a given topic. In addition, you must submit an individual term paper on any subject that interests you. Throughout the time, individual consultations are provided - both on a group project and on individual work.
I remember the first week in A. A. from practical classes, when students are offered the choice of visiting one of the "top" architectural workshops, where lectures and excursions to offices are arranged especially for students.
The first assignment of the first semester left a very vivid impression when we were asked to choose a residential object for study. Then it was necessary to install all kinds of temperature and humidity meters in the selected house, measure the levels of daylight, communicate with residents and learn about their lifestyle, daily routine and habits. The residents were surprised, and we ourselves did not expect such a deep analysis of the project. In addition, we met with the project architect to find out the smallest features of this house. Throughout the first semester, we studied the house from all sides, watched how people's habits affect energy consumption.
Two 3-storey houses (180 m2) and an art studio (50 m2) at Nos. 2 and 4 in Carmarthen Place were built in 2006 from wooden elements manufactured at the Riko factory in Slovenia. These Siberian timber elements were assembled in 12 days using a construction crane. The buildings were designed by the local bureau Architects in Residence (Kate Cheyne, Emma Doherty, Amanda Menage) on a very cramped stretch of land in Bermondsey, with the challenge of increasing the amount of light in the houses without disturbing the residents' privacy.
I was lucky to study at the RUDN University for six months, so I can judge the differences between these programs in Russia and Britain. There are many, but what impressed me most was the creative approach to student projects at A. A.. After studying at a Russian university, I got used to the fact that when they give an assignment, they offer an example of its implementation, so that the student has an idea of what his future work should look like. In A. A., it never happened. Not a single teacher will ever say what the work should look like - this question is completely decided by the student himself. At first, this put me into a stupor. For example, to my question: "What should be depicted on a slide dedicated to ecological transport?" the answer usually sounded like this: "Put what you think is important."
In the first semester, we were asked to make a presentation on sustainable transport. This assignment consisted of one phrase and format restrictions: each team of students prepares a presentation and a 10-minute story, and that's it. No explanations, clarifications, examples were suggested. Later, in fact, at a presentation in front of the whole class and five teachers, they will tell you what are the positive aspects of your work, and what moments you missed, but, again, they will not tell you exactly how you should have acted.
The second difference between English and Russian teaching is the regular, once every two weeks, presentations of the current project. This aspect helps to better work through the project at every stage, because every two weeks you have to show that your work makes sense. And if it suddenly turns out that there is no point, during the presentation they will help you find it. In addition to the positive aspects for the project, you learn to communicate with the public, defending your ideas. For England, this is a necessary practice, since presenting a project to the customer or at public hearings in local government bodies is an obligatory part of an architect's work.
In addition to the two differences mentioned above, it is important to mention the fact that A. A. studies last 10 hours daily throughout the week for almost the entire year.
As for AA as a university and its high status, then, of course, the air there is saturated with creativity. Crossing the threshold of house number 36 in Bedford Square, you find yourself only in the school of architectural wizards. I even tested this effect on other people: this is a truly atmospheric place, where you want to sit in the library, at a lecture by a guest star architect in the main auditorium, drink coffee on the terrace and just be. To feel the courage of experimenting, it used to be enough just to go to the main entrance, where in the summer they exhibited pavilions designed by one of the students. These have always been innovative designs.
About 42 people from 22 countries studied on our course: USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Israel - and Russia in my person, but not a single Englishman. The contingent ranged from young people who had just graduated from the bachelor's degree to quite seasoned architects with extensive experience. In my memory, there were several people who worked, that is, accredited architects. No one had their own workshop, but many acquired one already at the end of the course. In our course, I was the youngest in age. It is worth noting, however, that only a few had experience in our specialization, and even that one was very superficial. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the Sustainable Environmental Design specialty is very new. The difference in education among students, of course, was noticeable, but since the profile direction was new for everyone, and we all worked in groups, a different background only contributed to progress and self-development. We've all learned a lot from each other.
Senior lecturer of the faculty - guru of "sustainability", Greek by origin Simos Yannas. He is well known in our industry because he has long - as much as possible in this new field - been involved in “sustainable” design. He gives many lectures in the first two semesters. Simos usually has a couple of “favorites” among students. He usually selects the strongest students for this role throughout the course and later helps them work on their dissertation.
The rest of the faculty are either from the academic community, or professionals in our field from leading bureaus and past SED alumni. Like students, A. A. faculty is drawn from all over the world. In addition, for the first two semesters we had regular lectures by “sustainable” architects from the UK, Italy, Germany, Brazil, etc.
I was interested in absolutely everything in A. A., and despite the 10-hour working days and the absence of days off, I always wanted to absorb the knowledge more and more. In a Russian university, I did not feel such a desire. In A. A., something happens every day, whether you study there or not. After graduation, I came to lectures for another two years, sit in a cafe or watch another exhibition. Continuous development - perhaps this is how you can describe it. AA is a pulsating, creative and independent world where you want to create all the time. And, just as important, A. A. opens many doors for you, gives you a lot of acquaintances.
The study trips to Amsterdam and Madrid were also unforgettable. In both cities, we met with practicing architects and visited their buildings. Interestingly, at the time, Holland lagged behind Spain in terms of "sustainable" architecture.
However, after graduation it was difficult for me to find a job: the search process, which came at the height of the economic crisis, took nine whole months. Before becoming a sustainability consultant - a "sustainability" consultant - I had to work as an assistant architect for four months, because in order to work as an architect in England, you need to confirm your Russian diploma and get RIBA 1 and RIBA 2 accreditation, then study for another year. to pass the exam, obtain a license (RIBA 3) and the title of architect. This pleasure is not cheap, it costs about half a year in AA, so those who choose the path of an architect take a long time along this path.
After drawing toilets for a couple of months, I still found a job as a sustainability consultant. My responsibilities now include a lot of what I was taught in A. A., including dynamic modeling and analysis of buildings for the amount of sunlight - both on the facade and inside the living quarters, overheating and energy consumption. Research projects often come across when the customer is interested in analyzing potential energy efficiency scenarios for his site. Suppose, having a microdistrict at its disposal, the customer contacts our office with the question: which scenario will be most effective in terms of energy consumption and financial costs - a complete renovation of the area, overhaul of the existing housing stock or minimal renewal of obsolete elements of the housing stock (boilers, windows etc.). Later, by coincidence, I was involved in the management of the BREEAM energy efficiency assessment for the Olympic facilities in Sochi, which at that time received an unprecedented BREEAM rating for Russian history. More recently, I have successfully passed the exam for the title of BREEAM evaluator.
Having worked four years in the specialty and gone through an impressive number of job interviews in the UK, China and Vietnam, I can confidently say that the phrase "I studied at AA" has a magical property, because it is synonymous with quality education for architects in many countries. the world.
