Non-formal Education in the Study of Architecture

The Romanian architectural education is faced nowadays with a difficult challenge when it comes to transferring theoretical knowledge into the everyday practice of the craft. This problem stems first and foremost from the decrease in demand for young graduates on the labour market, not to mention the students’ limited possibilities of being hired. If several years back demand was higher than supply – with planning offices hiring students who were only in their second year of university – the current situation has changed in a radical way: less and less fresh graduates have any work experience whatsoever.

Whereas in the recent past the knowledge acquired in university was often corroborated with the reality of the profession, this happens now only on very few occasions, and this situation changes decisively the profile of the architecture student.

For this reason I believe that we, the university professors, but also the professionals in the field, need to make a continuous and sustained effort to adjust the architectural education to the current framework for practicing the profession, looking at education as the moulding which is obtained not just though the transfer of information, but also by developing the ability to learn in an environment faced with constant change. This can be achieved by practicing, experimenting, and not least by living the imagined architecture, which begins from drawing the first line and ends with placing the last brick in the wall.