ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION. The functions of the architect to-day are manifold and of a highly technical nature. He must first of all be expert in the actual planning of buildings, that is, he must be acquainted with the practical requirements of the accommodation of various kinds of structures, often of a complex order, such as factories and commercial buildings, hotels, theatres, hospitals and schools.
He must know how to arrange the several parts of these build ings in the most economical and convenient manner, for the art of planning is the very basis of the art of architecture.
He must have a thorough understanding of the ordinary methods of building construction, and sufficient knowledge of the prin ciples of steel and ferroconcrete work to enable him to employ those modern structural resources as an artist.
A considerable body of applied science is now involved in archi tectural practice, but it is always part of the means and never the end of architecture. The architect must be instructed how to make the technical sciences the servants of his art. Not only methods of construction, but surveying, sanitation, hygiene, heat ing, lighting, ventilation and acoustics come within this category, as also do such ancillary subjects as the law and finance of build ing.
It is necessary too, that the training of the architect shall in clude the study of perspective, sciagraphy, rendering (see RENDER ING, ARCHITECTURAL) and the preparation of working drawings (see DRAWING, ENGINEERING).
In addition, a knowledge of materials, their practical charac teristics and the effects which can be obtained from them, is an essential element in the architect's education, since they determine the durability of the fabric and its appearance. The application of all this varied knowledge is implied in design in architecture.
And it is with design that the architect is primarily and ulti mately concerned.
Architectural design involves thinking simultaneously in three dimensions, visualizing the work in plan, section and elevation in such a way that the resultant composition is expressive and beau tiful. For this, efficient creative ability of a special order is re quired and no system of training can generate that ability. But training can make possible its fullest development, can direct it along the most profitable lines and can place at its disposal, in the best manner, the accumulated experience of the past. These are the objects with which the present systems of architectural edu cation are chiefly concerned.
It is generally agreed that the study of architecture should be preceded by a liberal education. As one of the fine arts, his torically associated with the arts of painting and sculpture, and as the background of civilized society, it demands both for its practice and its appreciation some measure of general culture. The tendency to-day is, therefore, for schools of architecture in Europe, the British Empire and America to require from candi dates for admission evidence of a broad nontechnical education; and in a number of cases liberal studies are pursued during at least the earlier portion of the professional course. A general sur vey of architectural education at the present time shows that it is principally administered in America by universities, and in Europe and the British Empire, either by universities or by insti tutions virtually of university rank, such as the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, the High School of Architecture in Rome and the Viennese academy. Sometimes the teaching of architecture has the advantage of being conducted under academic auspices in asso ciation with painting and sculpture. In certain schools the curricu lum has a strong mathematical bias, whilst in others, emphasis is laid on preserving and developing traditional methods of design. Such differences are due to national and local influences. They do not materially affect the broad cosmopolitan character of modern architectural education. That education, it is now more and more realized, is the proper responsibility of the practising profession in each country. In France the fact has always been recognized, and, since academic education was instituted in Paris in the I 7th cen tury, the most eminent architects have themselves undertaken educational obligations. The result has been that in no other coun try has the practice and teaching of architecture been so com pletely and successfully related. Elsewhere in the early days of the scholastic system the attempt was made to divide the architectural profession into two classes—theoretic non-practising teachers, and architects who practised and did not teach. But architecture could not be taught by theorists any more than medicine and the ex periment has been definitely abandoned. To-day architectural education in all countries is in the hands of practising teachers. Direct connection between the instruction given in the school and the experience of actual practice is thereby assured; the world of the school is not isolated from the world of the architect's studio or office. At the same time scholastic training cannot of itself complete the education of the architect. The conditions of practice must inevitably differ from those of theoretic training. For this reason, to effect a transition between the two, most sys tems of architectural education now in operation provide for some part of the school course being devoted to gaining actual experi and his success, to a large extent, depends on the proper co ordination of these elements. For a discussion of the architect's problems and methods see ARCHITECTURE; for a treatment of his training see ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION.
Naval architect, one who designs ships and supervises their construction.