During the Mextropoli Festival in Mexico City, we had the chance to sit down with Martha Thorne, the Vice Dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design, and the Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize, who spoke with us about some of the challenges currently facing architecture education.
"When there is globalization in any field there’s the danger that every place becomes similar, or in this case the danger that schools can become similar or standardized, all trying to approach architecture and the academics of architecture in the same way,” she explained. “I think what’s really interesting is to try to look at schools and see how they try to differentiate themselves.”
In IE’s case, the school has a unique focus on business and entrepreneurship, teaching tools and skills that are often found outside of the architecture profession.
“In our post-professional programs we combine either business in our Architecture Management and Design program, or in our Design for Work, Retail and Learning Spaces we look at developments in technology and developments in organizational behavior in psychology, and put that together to understand how the world works and therefore how architects and designers can be most effective in the real world.”
Watch the full interview with Thorne to hear what else she has to say about the challenges facing architecture schools today, the role of technology in the profession and the debate between a theoretical education versus a hands-on approach.
