The Architectural Association (AA) School of Architecture has announced a shortlist of five candidates – including one joint candidacy – in the running to become the new Director, leading the strategic direction of one of the world's foremost architecture schools.
Candidates Professor Andrew Clancy, Dr Mark Morris, John Palmesino and Ann-Sofi Rönnskog (Joint Candidacy), Dr Ingrid Schroder and Professor Jill Stoner will be the subject of a vote by students, faculty and Council members in line with the school’s constitution following a series of events and presentations. The outcome of the vote will be advisory to the Council, with the final decision announced to the students, staff and the public in May. The successful applicant will take up the post in time for the next academic year.
The oldest independent school of architecture in the UK, the AA is internationally recognised as a global leader in architectural education. Democratically organised, it has an international community of around 1,000 students, 350 academics and 140 administrative staff. The application process to choose the new Director began in December 2021, with the initial call for application gathering just under 50 Candidates, narrowed down to 14 for the interview process.
Candidates details in full (alphabetical):
Professor Andrew Clancy: Professor of Architecture, Kingston School of Art. Director at Clancy Moore Architects.
Dr Mark Morris: Head of Teaching and Learning and Chair of the Senior Management Team, the Architectural Association School of Architecture.
John Palmesino and Ann-Sofi Rönnskog (Joint Candidacy): Co-Directors, Territorial Agency; Diploma Unit and Course Masters, the Architectural Association School of Architecture.
Dr Ingrid Schroder: Head of Design Teaching, and Director of the MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design (MAUD) at the University of Cambridge Department of Architecture.
Professor Jill Stoner: Professor of the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley
About the Architectural Association:
The Architectural Association is one of the foremost schools of architecture in the world. Founded in 1847, the Architectural Association (AA) is a registered charity with the object of ‘promoting and affording facilities for the study of architecture for the public benefit’. Its principal activity is the operation of a school of architecture, promoting the most experimental, radical and forward-thinking standpoint in the field. The AA is a global institution with an international assembly consisting of around 1000 students, 350 academics and 140 administrative staff. It is a learned society (the ‘Association’) comprising members and alumni.
Being democratically organised, the AA is an institution of cultural, social and racial diversity where all may speak freely, equally and be heard. Supported by tutors who set their own agendas, students develop their own positions on research and design experimentation. This work is undertaken out of a personal enthusiasm that ultimately informs their professional careers. Questioning and redefining the nature of future practice is an integral part of the School.
The School Community is essential to the democratic mission of the School. It includes all registered full-time students, contracted staff (both academic and administrative) and all Council members, but not the Director. It is a forum for discussion across the AA and a voting body, and makes recommendations to the AA Council on matters regarding the School’s future.
The main premises of the AA have been in Bedford Square since 1917. Uniquely, a rural campus, Hooke Park in Dorset, was added in 2002, which houses the residential Design and Make postgraduate programme and the Wood Lab research group. The AA’s reach extends beyond these physical campuses through its international programme of Visiting Schools – short courses and workshops open to individuals worldwide – and with global networks of alumni, visiting lecturers and consultants; the School’s location in the heart of London offers connections to world-renowned academic and cultural institutions.
About the role: https://andersonquigley.com/aa-school-director/