No. 39 (2025): Blurring the lines | exploring the junctions between architectural education and professional practice

^The real world.

^Ready for the Practice.

^Ready for the job.

These are all common phrases used in architectural education when we describe the preparation of graduates to complete their degree and also when we talk to professionals about industry expectations. Of course, it is important that graduates leave higher education ready to work and that they have the confidence to participate in office tasks. While this is not the only goal of architectural education, the main goal should ideally be employability, but what other components are important in educating the architects of the future?

When discussing university with groups of 16-18 year old educators, a common theme is often whether a student is ready for university. Has their previous education prepared them sufficiently to take the next step into higher education? What preparation has been done to explore this intersection and has adequate support been provided to create a successful trajectory? This issue of preparation is also a common theme among undergraduate educators, as we look at whether a student's academic background has prepared them to feel sufficiently prepared for architectural education. For decades, it has also been common to interrogate the intersections that occur between educational levels in architectural schooling. In doing so, pedagogical practice and understanding has evolved to create teaching methods and projects that are appropriate for the level "now" when incoming students are received, but also for the future. Through this element of forward planning, educators aim to ensure that students in architectural education and related design fields enter professional practice with the appropriate knowledge and toolkit to perform successfully.

A perhaps less frequently asked question would be: are practices and industry 'ready' for our students and what reflections are occurring within industry in terms of mentoring that respond to the ever-changing world and, in turn, to architectural education?

This particular intersection between higher education and professional practice has been a matter of debate for many decades. With the profession constantly evolving and changing to adapt to our changing society and climate, one might ask whether it is possible to train graduates to be 'ready' for the real world. In the same vein, architectural education continues to face pressures to meet the needs of our incoming students, who, year by year, are also changing in terms of their needs, aspirations and skills. Today's students are entering architectural education expert and highly skilled in technologies and software that the students of a decade ago were not. They are also much more aware of the challenges presented by the climate crisis; they are grappling with the financial crisis that is affecting them and are familiar with the need for greater awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion. As such, there is a need for architectural education to adapt and adapt to these new types of students to create new reflective curricula that address topics such as inclusion; AI, BIM and new materials (to name a few), as well as to find new pedagogical methods to deliver content. As architectural education adjusts the initial stage of architects' education, how are studios reacting to the changes in our graduates? What conversations are happening within the profession and within architectural education about this crossroads after graduation and how is it being addressed?

On both sides of this critical crossroads, both in education and in the architectural profession, there have been forced changes as a result of the pandemic and the climate crisis.

Similarly, architectural news has highlighted mistreatment, harassment, low pay, misogyny and other worse phenomena occurring internally. The coming changes in the university education of architects also pose new challenges that need to be addressed. This issue therefore wanted to raise the question of what future architectural education should look like and how the intersection between the two should be addressed as we move forward. How do we prepare for an unknown future?

Guest editors:

Victoria Farrow Arquitecta. Facultad de Arquitectura de Leicester, Universidad De Monfort

Alona Martínez Pérez. Arquitecta. Escuela de Arquitectura de Leicester, Universidad De Monfort