| Architectural Association School of Architecture |
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| Motto | Design with Beauty, Build in Truth |
| Established | 1847 |
| Director | Brett Steele |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Homepage | aaschool.ac.uk |
The Architectural Association School of Architecture, more usually known as the AA, is an architectural school in London, United Kingdom. Its wide-ranging programme of exhibitions, lectures, symposia and publications have given it a central position in global discussions and developments within contemporary architectural culture.[1][2]
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The AA is the oldest independent school and one of the most prestigious and competitive schools of architecture in the world.[3] The Architectural Association, the pre-cursor to the school, was founded in 1847 by two dissatisfied young architects (Robert Kerr, 24, and Charles Grey, 24), to provide a self-directed, independent education at a time when the profession of architecture had yet to appear in the form recognised today. The AA School was formally established in 1890. In 1901, it moved premises to the former Royal Architectural Museum. In 1917, it moved again, to its current premises in Bedford Square, central London (it has since acquired additional London premises in John Street and a 350-acre (1.4 km2) site at Hooke Park in Dorset). The school has also acquired property on Morwell Street behind Bedford Square, which it uses as studio space and there are plans for further expansion.[4]
The students of the AA have been addressed by many eminent figures, from John Ruskin, George Gilbert Scott, to more recently Daniel Libeskind, Richard Rogers, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas.
After 150 years, the AA is one of the world's most international schools of architecture , attracting students and staff from more than 60 countries worldwide, and a long list of visiting critics, lecturers and other participants from around the world each year.
Courses are divided into two main areas - undergraduate programmes, leading to the AA Diploma (Part 2), and postgraduate programmes, which include specialised courses in Landscape Urbanism (LU),[5] Housing and Urbanism, Sustainable Environmental Design, Histories and Theories, Emergent Technologies,[6] Design Research Lab (DRL), as well as day-release course in Building Conservation, garden conservation, and environmental access. Recently launched programmes Projective Cities, Design+Make and Interprofessional Studio. Since its foundation, the School has continued to draw its teaching staff from progressive international practices, and they are reappointed annually, allowing a continual renewal of the exploration of architectural graphics and polemical formalism.[7]
The school also has its own bookshop, the AA Bookshop,[8] containing a comprehensive range of architectural books. The bookshop is also used as a platform for newly launched titles from AA Publications.[9] AA Publications has a long tradition of publishing architects, artists and theorists early in their careers, as well as occasionally publishing figures who have already gained notoriety in their field of expertise, such as Salman Rushdie. AA Publications also publishes the journal AA Files and the AA Book, also known as the Projects Review, which annually documents the work undertaken by members of the school from Foundation to Graduate programmes. The school also has its own independent radio station.[10] The AA gallery also regularly exhibits work from emerging professionals, to exhibitions containing the work of more established architects and related professionals.
The school is notable as existing outside the state-funded university system, with tuition fees comparable to that of a private school, though some bursaries are available on merit and financial need. Since non-EU students are charged higher fees to attend state universities however, the AA is competitively priced by comparison; therefore the AA is notable for having a higher proportion of overseas students enrolled than many other UK architecture schools.[11]
It also exists outside the UCAS application system; even at undergraduate/first degree level direct application is the norm. It is therefore not included in many books which guide potential undergraduates to choose appropriate courses, indeed many are unaware of its existence until they are studying architecture elsewhere. This may also account for the lower count of home-students enrolled.[12]
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