Natalya, let's start with the main thing: how did the Department of Architecture appear at the State University of Education, and what is its specificity?
The Faculty of Architecture and the Department of Agricultural Architecture were created in 1964, when there was a need for the production of specialists in the design of objects for the agricultural industry with additional interdisciplinary knowledge.
Gradually, we moved on to training specialists of a wider profile who are able to design objects of various typology - from residential complexes and schools to technology parks and cosmodromes. Today the Department of Architecture conducts activities at three levels of higher education: bachelor's, master's and postgraduate studies, in the main areas of "Architecture", "Landscape architecture", "Environment design".
We preserve the interdisciplinarity traditional for the university in the preparation of students, because an architect is a synthetic profession that develops at the intersection of art and exact sciences. Currently, an architect needs knowledge in the field of ecology, energy efficiency, cadastre, as well as legal and economic literacy. The curriculum of our faculty includes such subjects as photogrammetry, legal regime of territories, typology of real estate objects. At the Faculty of Landscape Architecture, children study dendrology, soil science, and plant growing.
In addition, the department has several design directions of its own. The first is iconic architecture. In it, our students regularly win professional competitions and participate in the implementation of projects, in addition, joint student teams are working in the Yaroslavl diocese to restore churches. The second is the development of the urban environment. We are talking about zones of historical buildings, which, on the one hand, must be preserved, and on the other, made alive and comfortable. We have teachers with extensive experience in the field of restoration and reconstruction of historical sites, who are well aware of the specifics of heritage conservation, but they understand that the city is a living organism, and it is impossible to conserve its center, on the contrary, it needs to be developed without destroying it. The third area is ecology and sustainable development of the territory. Perhaps it cannot be called unique, but in our country, due to the specifics of the university, it is very developed. Our faculty and students have R&D and invention patents in the field of energy efficiency in buildings and their protection from natural disasters. In general, we maintain a high bar of universal human values and believe that protecting the planet is our only way.
Many students of our department are working on projects for the development of industrial complexes, agricultural tourism facilities - a topic that is again becoming very relevant in modern Russia. This gives the children the opportunity at the training stage to express themselves in industry competitions, agro-industrial forums and exhibitions organized by the Ministry of Agriculture or regional authorities.
Who comes to you to study, and who do you graduate?
We are a state university, therefore, the educational program is drawn up in accordance with the requirements of the Bologna Convention and the recommendations of the Federal Educational and Methodological Association.
We are mainly visited by students who want to get a classical architectural education. The requirements for the preparation of applicants at the faculty are quite high, the entrance exam does not formally differ from the one taken at the Moscow Architectural Institute: two drawings (small caps instead of composition), drawing, Russian, mathematics. Although the assessment of the entrance works in our country is perhaps somewhat more democratic, this is compensated by the smaller number of budget places. This year, to pass on budget, on average, you had to gain about 80 points on each test.
Also, we traditionally have a lot of students from the Moscow region and regions, from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok.
The university has the opportunity to simultaneously receive a second education in the direction of land management and cadastres, economics, law. Some students, upon completion of 4-5 years of study, receive two diplomas at once. So we give a wide palette of knowledge that may not be available in purely architectural universities, but nevertheless they are in demand in the profession. Of course, applicants often have a vague idea of what they will do after receiving a diploma, but already senior students see their professional prospects and advantages.
I think the main thing in architectural education is to immerse the student in the basics of the profession, explain the methodology, the mechanisms of forming an environment that is comfortable for people's lives. "Benefits, strength, beauty" are still relevant. And if the feeling of “beauty” often depends on talent, then it is possible to teach competent design in terms of functionality, environmental friendliness and ensuring sustainable development of the environment.
Our task is to lay the student's solid base of professional knowledge of a wide range, which will allow him to become successful in architecture, and possibly in any related field. In a narrow sense, this is knowledge of basic design standards, developed aesthetic taste and mastery of modern computer design programs.
What, in your opinion, interferes with the educational process?
We have quite large groups for undergraduate studies, and in the creative professions, the “master-student” relationship and, as far as possible, an individual approach are important. But we still try to proceed from the characteristics of each student.
As I said, the profession is becoming more and more diverse, in the learning process, in addition to transferring basic knowledge, we try to identify and develop the strengths of students - someone is a conceptualist, someone is a good designer, urban planner or volume designer, someone is a clear team leader. … We help students to express themselves outside academic disciplines, we support them by participating in competitive projects, scientific and practical conferences. Competitions are on a wide variety of topics: from the organization of the urban environment, reconstruction and restoration, to the development of individual interior elements. The student has the opportunity to try everything and understand what his heart is in. Often, students are involved in actual design. So, for example, the architectural proposals of our students were implemented in the improvement of the territory of the courtyard of the university.
Separate topic of the "Open City" – interaction of the customer in the face of the city, developer, private person and architects. Do you teach the skills of negotiation and advocating ideas in architecture universities, in particular, in yours?
Indeed, the practical training of university graduates, and not only architectural ones, does not always meet the requirements of the modern market. Although, if we ask 10 employers what they lack in young specialists, we may get 10 different answers. In this regard, the "Open City" is a very correct and necessary platform where we, education producers, and market representatives can meet and begin a discussion on how to adapt the training of specialists to modern realities.
For our part, we try to change according to the trends of the times. In recent years, the number of hours for practical blocks has been increased in the curriculum. Within the framework of a number of disciplines, such as "design methodology", "organization of architectural design and construction", students learn the basics of self-presentation, leadership of creative teams and the organization of the activities of design bureaus.
Often, creative people, which our students certainly are, are introverts by nature, and the profession requires them to actively work in a team and communicate with the customer, so the teachers set themselves the task of revealing the guys, talking, teaching them how to defend their project. Another problem is that total computerization and communication through social networks lead to the fact that live communication among children is often reduced to a minimum. This means that any interview, any verbal presentation turns into real stress for them. With the transition to instant messengers, the skills of structured written presentation are lost. But an architect must present his object in a short resume, choose the most important thing and reflect its advantages. To train these skills, we involve children in writing scientific articles and speaking at conferences. I would like the school essay to be not their last structured text. Perhaps it would be nice to introduce a separate subject, like rhetoric, into the curriculum.
Students of architecture universities have today the opportunity to work on real projects while still learning. What do you think is gained and what is possibly lost with this approach?
No matter how hard we try to introduce workshops into the curriculum, higher education provides fundamental theoretical training, and not just training in a craft. Therefore, of course, most children choose a job in their specialty in order not only to make money, but also to gain practical skills. The advantages of the "work + study" scheme are clear; there may not be any disadvantages. We have students who successfully work and graduate with honors. But I would ask the guys to be more careful when choosing an employer. It is felt when a student has found a wise mentor in the person of the boss, and this tandem benefits the training. But, unfortunately, we often have to observe how work interferes with spending enough time on course projects, independent design, that is, what the student came to learn. Students have problems with time management, at work time is money in the literal sense of the word, it's tempting. I urge the guys to look to the future and choose not only money, but also knowledge. The mechanical development of drawing skills should not be at the expense of the development of architectural thinking. And I recommend going to the magistracy - there are more opportunities for individual work, and, accordingly, professional improvement.
Material provided by the Open City conference press service.
The Open City conference will take place in Moscow on September 27-28. The program of the event: workshops from leading architectural bureaus, sessions on topical issues of Russian architectural education, a thematic exhibition, Portfolio Review - presentation of student portfolios to leading architects and developers of Moscow - and much more.
