Learning from Elite Higher Education Institutions for Architecture: alternative practices as beta elite

Concerned with the agenda of architectural education, this paper explores the hypothesis that the future of the university lays in relation to its past, namely in its revalorization as a cultural institution with a strong identity and an idiosyncratic profile. The notions of intellectual aristocracy and scholarly elite are examined in this regard. Significance is also attributed to the function of discourse and the collective in architectural education. Through an overview of representative examples of leading establishments in the field such as the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University in New York and the University of Tokyo, the study aims to expose the underestimated value and implicit attraction of the experience and very culture of higher education institutions. In that reference, an analogy comparing an elite architecture school to a members' club is utilized in order to better illustrate distinctive attributes, exhibited by both typologies, such as exclusivity, group identity, social and professional interaction and affiliation, among others. General critique of elite higher education institutions is proposed. On that basis, a conclusion is drawn in respect to the lessons and possible trajectories for architectural academia. Among them, notable is the shift towards alternative educational practices. The author suggests their potential to manifest as an updated version of elite education in architecture. Alongside other examples, occupying the periphery of institutional structures, an investigation of an autonomous organization – European Architecture Students Assembly, is presented in order to illustrate that premise.