About

The Architectural Association (AA) was established as a student-centred collective in 1847. Since then, the school has challenged traditional methods of architectural education and encouraged its members to critically reflect on the social, cultural and political implications of architecture at large.

The AA began life situated within Lyons Inn Hall, London, and eventually moved to Bedford Square in 1917, where it remains to this day, with the addition of its Hooke Park and Montague Street campuses. The school became the first full-time, professional day school for architectural study in the UK and provided one of the first specialised diplomas of its kind in Europe.

Decades of change have seen the AA evolve from an occasional night school to a self-governed educational institution with impact reaching across the world. Alumni have not only made significant contributions to the architectural profession, but in countless cultural and scientific fields as well. Today, the AA continues to foster creative potential and critical reflection, and to radical cultural practices with the same rigour and dedication as when it was first founded.

Ingrid Schroder, Director (2022–)
Eva Franch i Gilabert, Director (2018–20)
Samantha Hardingham, Interim Director (2017–18)
Brett Steele, Director (2005–17)
Moshen Mostafavi, Chairman (1995–2004)
Alan Balfour, Chairman (1991–95)
David Gray, Acting Chairman for Interim Committee (1990–91)
Alvin Boyarksy, Chairman (1971–90)
John Lloyd, Principal (1966–70)
Otto Koenigsberg, Acting Principal (1965–66)
Bill Allen, Principal (1961–65)
Michael Pattrick, Principal (1951–61)
Robert Furneaux-Jordan, Principal (1948–51)
Major R Gordon Brown, Principal (1945–48)
Fredrick Gibberd, Principal (1942–45)
Geoffrey Jellicoe, Principal (1938–42)
Fernand Billery, Principal (1938)
EAA Rowse, Principal and HS Goodhart-Rendel, Director of Education (1935–38)
Howard Robertson, Principal and Robert Atkinson, Director of Education (1920–35)
HPG Maule, Head of Day School (1903–13)
Arthur T Bolton, Head of Day School (1901–3)