CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS OF AN ACCREDITED SCHOOL

In order to achieve the above mentioned Objectives, the following conditions and requirements should be taken into account:

1. That adequate studios, laboratories, facilities for research, advanced studies, libraries, information and data exchanges for new technologies should be provided at schools of architecture.
2. That in order to promote a common understanding and to raise the level of architectural education, the creation of a network, on a worldwide basis for the exchange of information, teachers and senior students is as necessary as a regional network to promote an understanding of diverse climate, materials, vernacular practices and culture. The use of external examiners is a recognised method of achieving and maintaining comparable national and global standards.
3. That each teaching institution must adjust the number of students according to its teaching capacity and the selection of students shall be in relation to the aptitudes required for a successful education in architecture, and this will be applied by means of an appropriate selection process at the point of entry into each academic programme.
4. That teacher/student numbers must reflect the design studio teaching methodology required to obtain the above capabilities as studio teaching should be a major part of the learning process.
5. That individual project work with direct teacher/student dialogue should form the basis of the learning period, continuous interaction between the practice and teaching of architecture must be encouraged and protected and design project work must be a synthesis of acquired knowledge and accompanying skills.
6. That the development of conventional drawing skills is still a requirement of the educational programme and modern personalised computer technology and the development of specialised software makes it imperative to teach the use of computers in all aspects of architectural education.
7. That research and publication should be regarded as an inherent activity of architectural educators and may encompass applied methods and experiences in architectural practice, project work and construction methods, as well as academic disciplines.
8. That education establishments should create systems for self-evaluation and peer review conducted at regular intervals including in the review panel, appropriately experienced educators from other schools or other countries and practising architects, or participate in the approved UNESCO-UIA Validation System.
9. That education should be formalised by an individual’s demonstration of capabilities by the end of the programme of studies, the principal part being a presentation of an architectural project demonstrating the acquired knowledge and concomitant skills. For this purpose, juries should constitute an interdisciplinary team, including examiners external to the school who may be practitioners or academics from other schools or countries but who must have experience and expertise in the assessment process at that level.
10. That in order to benefit from the wide variety of teaching methods, including distance learning, exchange programmes for teachers, and students at advanced levels are desirable. Final projects could be shared among architecture schools as a means of facilitating comparison between results and self-evaluation of teaching establishments, through a system of international awards, exhibitions and publications on the internet web site.

CONCLUSION

This Charter was created on the initiative of UNESCO and the UIA to be applied internationally to architectural education and needs the guarantee of protection, development and urgent action.

The Charter constitutes a framework providing orientation and guidance to students and teachers of all establishments involved in education and training in architecture and planning. It is conceived as a "dynamic" document which will be regularly revised, thus taking into consideration new trends, needs and developments in professional practice, as well as in education systems.

Beyond all aesthetic, technical and financial aspects of the professional responsibilities, the major concerns, expressed by the Charter, are the social commitment of the profession, i.e. the awareness of the role and responsibility of the architect in his or her respective society, as well as the improvement of the quality of life through sustainable human settlements.

The UNESCO/UIA Charter initially approved in 1996 was drafted by a group of ten experts, coordinated by Fernando Ramos Galino (Spain), and including: Lakhman Alwis (Sri Lanka), Balkrishna Doshi (India), Alexandre Koudryavtsev (Russia), Jean-Pierre Elog Mbassi (Benin), Xavier Cortes Rocha (Mexico), Ashraf Salama (Egypt), Roland Schweitzer (France), Roberto Segre (Brazil), Vladimir Slapeta (Czech Republic), Paul Virilio (France).

This text was revised in 2004/2005 by the UNESCO/UIA Validation Committee for Architectural Education, in collaboration with the UIA Education Commission. The authors of this revision were : Jaime Lerner (Brazil) representing UIA and Wolf Tochtermann (Germany), representing UNESCO : co-Presidents, Fernando Ramos Galino (Spain), General reporter, Brigitte Colin (France), representing UNESCO, Jean-Claude Riguet (France), UIA Secretary General and the following regional members :

Ambrose A. Adebayo (South Africa), Louise Cox (Australia), Nobuaki Furuya (Japan), Sara Maria Giraldo Mejia (Colombia), Paul Hyett (United-

Kingdom), Alexandre Koudryavtsev (Russia), Said Mouline (Morocco), Alexandru Sandu (Romania), James Scheeler (USA), Roland

Schweitzer (France), Zakia Shafie (Egypt), Vladimir Slapeta (Czech Republic), Alain Viaro (Switzerland), Enrique Vivanco Riofrio (Equador).