Articles by Sean Griffiths

The exposure of alleged abuse at the Bartlett must not become an excuse for dismantling how we teach architecture, says Sean Griffiths. Education is once again the subject of intense debate. Three years ago, I wrote a defence of architectural education on these pages in response to criticisms levelled at its “art school” model by the

The post “We must not allow the destruction of what is still great about architectural education” appeared first on Dezeen.

Those, like Patrik Schumacher, who say that architectural education isn’t fit for purpose are ignoring the many educators and students addressing very real issues, says Sean Griffiths in defence of the current system. Architectural education is once again under attack. Patrik Schumacher condemns its “art school” model as ill-suited to the production of practice-ready architects.

The post “It is emphatically not the job of architectural education to mimic practice” appeared first on Dezeen.

Great architecture is judged on material reality, not the ethics of those that are creating it, says Sean Griffiths. What is the relationship between ethics and aesthetics? Some believe that the social conditions under which a work of architecture is created are intrinsically embedded in its material reality and hence form part of its meaning.

The post “The master and slave mentality remains firmly embedded in architectural culture” appeared first on Dezeen.

Great architecture is judged on material reality, not the ethics of those that are creating it, says Sean Griffiths. What is the relationship between ethics and aesthetics? Some believe that the social conditions under which a work of architecture is created are intrinsically embedded in its material reality and hence form part of its meaning.

The post “The master and slave mentality remains firmly embedded in architectural culture” appeared first on Dezeen.

Great architecture is judged on material reality, not the ethics of those that are creating it, says Sean Griffiths. What is the relationship between ethics and aesthetics? Some believe that the social conditions under which a work of architecture is created are intrinsically embedded in its material reality and hence form part of its meaning.

The post “The master and slave mentality remains firmly embedded in architectural culture” appeared first on Dezeen.

Steven Holl’s recent proposal for Dublin, and its tenuous reference to a landmark 160 miles away, is symptomatic of architects’ obsession with fake meanings, says Sean Griffiths. The recent unveiling of Stephen Holl’s design for University College Dublin’s campus has generated a bit of a furore. People have been getting rather upset about the American

The post “Architectural meanings are nothing but fictions” appeared first on Dezeen.

Sean Griffiths asks whether, on the eve of the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale, the era of the architect-personality is finally coming to an end, and should we care? Architecture is under siege, say Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Irish studio Grafton, the curators of this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, which opens this week. And

The post “Architects are not really required for the nitty gritty of actual building any more” appeared first on Dezeen.

Place-making is a dangerous concept that has very little to do with architecture, argues Sean Griffiths. In awarding Terry Farrell its prestigious Gold Medal for 2017, the Royal Town Planning Institute cited the architect’s “outstanding impact on place-making”. Place-making, for Farrell at least, involves trying to emulate the city’s existing grain in new developments and

The post “In the name of place-making, architects are often complicit in social cleansing” appeared first on Dezeen.