UPD 14/7/2020: A. A. Governing Board fired School Principal Eva Frank-y-Gilaberte on July 13, 2020 because she was unable to develop and implement the school's development strategy and maintain the trust of her community (which is described in her employment contract as key responsibilities of the principal), in addition, During negotiations following the June 29 vote, Frank was given the opportunity to present to the board her plans to remedy the situation, but the board was not confident that she would continue to fulfill her duties as director (the full statement of the A. A. board can be read here).
UPD 8/7/2020: A letter from AA employees has been published, who blame Eva Frank for, among other things, unacceptable harsh treatment of employees.
Eva Frank-y-Gilabert became the headmaster of the A. A. school in 2018: then she was preferred to the English teacher, architect and urbanist Robert Mall (until 2016 - the headmaster of the school, in the recent past called The Cass) and Italian - Pippo Chorra.
Franck y Gilabert is a Catalan architect and curator, studied in Delft, Barcelona and Princeton, in 2004 founded the OOAA (Office Of Architectural Affairs), dealing with housing and public spaces, and in 2010-2018 led the progressive "forum" Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York. She is known for her radical ideas, considerable charisma, the ability to convey her thoughts to the public in an original form. Her appointment was greeted with cautious optimism, well expressed in an article by The Observer architecture critic Rowan Moore, who, describing her breadth of interests and incredible energy, expressed the hope that she would breathe new life into A. A., but acknowledged that she could be for school. too charismatic and unusual.
The Architectural Association School is also unusual. It was founded in 1847 by young architects as an alternative to the traditional training of architects of that time - apprenticeship in the workshop of a particular practitioner, which was often of little educational value and associated with exploitation, abuse, etc. This is how AA became the first independent architectural institute in Great Britain (registered as a charity, a charitable organization), and this is why such a democratic procedure for voting by the "community" of students and students on all important issues is connected. Their decision is not binding on the governing board, but it is always taken into account. The world fame of modern AA is associated with Alvin Boyarsky, director in 1971-1990: it was he who directed the university along a radical, experimental path, which brought famous teachers and students there. Many of the "stars" of modern architecture have passed AA in one capacity or another, as the "blue plaque" on its building says, indicating its status as a heritage monument.
At the same time, AA today is not at all cloudless: as a private university, it does not have to rely on the support of the state, therefore, education there is not at all cheap, which significantly limits access to it. Only in October last year, for the first time in its history, the university was accredited, that is, it received the right to issue its own state-recognized diplomas - for undergraduate and graduate programs. Prior to that, these programs were approved by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architect Registration Board (ARB), but the lack of state accreditation made it difficult for students to obtain grants and subsidies, and it was difficult for foreign graduates to justify their bachelor's or master's degrees at home. In the Brexit situation, the need for accreditation was especially acute: a tightening of the migration regime would prevent foreign students from obtaining a visa, and foreigners are important for the full development of the school, not to mention their contribution to its budget.
The accreditation process began by Frank's predecessor, Brett Steele, who left office in 2017, and under the interim AA leadership, the influential AA Files magazine (later rebuilt) was shut down to save money and the layoffs were carried out - despite protests from members of the Architectural Association, including Rem Koolhaas. Richard Rogers, David Adjaye.
Eva Frank took office two years ago, on July 1, 2018, and on June 29, 2020, about 900 out of 1,300 students and teachers took part in an online vote, which resulted in a vote of no confidence and rejection of her five-year school development plan. The plan was rejected by 80% of those who voted, their distrust was expressed with a small margin: 52%.
Rejection of the plan is based on Frank's disregard for two major issues, Braxit and Covid-19, which have a very strong impact on British universities. With distrust of the director - it is more difficult, in the comments of current and former students and teachers among the reasons they name the growing tuition fees in the absence of grant programs for socially vulnerable students, lower salaries for teachers, Eva Frank's insufficient attention to the needs of students and teachers (bordering on attempts to force critics from among them to be silent) and its excessive self-PR, which affected the well-being of the school … The argument in its favor - that it was under Frank that state accreditation was obtained - is disputed by the fact that the six-year process was started by Steele, and continued and completed - by those responsible for it is by A. A. staff, not by the head of the institute.
But perhaps more indignation than any shortcomings and mistakes of Eva Frank, an open letter in defense of the headmistress was sent to the AA council in the A. A. community. It appeared already on June 30, and at the moment there are 174 signatures under it. The overwhelming majority of those who supported this appeal did not study or teach at A. A., which they directly state, but among them many collaborated with Frank in one capacity or another and were very pleased with this cooperation. There are many big names of people known for their open-mindedness and radical approach to the profession: researchers Beatrice Colomina, Mark Wigley, Anthony Widler, all three partners of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Benedetta Tagliabue, Ivan Baan, some former and current OMA partners, Alejandro Saero-Polo, leaders and professors of many famous architecture and art universities.
But the meaning is not in the list of names, but in the text of the letter, in which those who voted against are boldly accused of sexism and bias, since Frank is an “inspiring leader”, an honest and whole person, a “tireless intellectual” devoted to architectural pedagogy, and besides, women on leadership positions are always rated more severely than men. Despite assurances of their own ignorance, the authors of the letter describe the vote as hastily and poorly organized during the quarantine and anti-racist unrest, when people are often upset and agitated, as well as when it was night outside Europe.
A. A. students are roughly evenly divided by gender, as elsewhere in Britain, and the sexist accusation has hurt many of the female students who voted against Frank. The arrogant tone of the letter also aroused natural indignation. An interesting detail remains that back in 2019, the editorial office of Architects' Journal received an anonymous letter, allegedly signed by 161 AA students and teachers: they described a situation where theory in the curriculum dominates design with dire consequences for both, and certain methods and approaches are considered optimal to the detriment of all others.
The A. A. Council promised to take into account the arguments of the June 30, 2020 letter and the results of the vote when making a decision, but whatever that may be, it seems sad that one of the best architectural institutions in the world is in a crisis from which Frank has not (yet) been able to derive it. Obviously, her quick mind, original thinking, energy and charisma bribed the selection committee, who wanted change and therefore placed such high hopes on her, despite her comparative youth (she was born in 1978) and lack of managerial experience (her previous job, Storefront - very small organization).
It also speaks to the great shortage of talented and knowledgeable leaders of architecture schools, which even such a legendary institution as AA has faced. All that remains is to rely on the inner strength of the School of the Architectural Association, which will be able to survive this crisis, respond to the request of its community and, perhaps, offer a way out of the impasse for other institutions, not only architectural ones.
