Time for Celebration?

A few words before the Milano “Architectural Education towards 2013” EAAE/AEEA Annual Conference, and the EAAE/AEEA General Assembly. Both events might prove to be decisive for the Association.

The initiatives behind the Association that came to be called the European Association for Architectural Education were taken during the early 1970s, and the organisation was established as an embryo in 1975. The 17th of October twelve academics met in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, signed an agreement, named the Association, and elected Hans Haenlein (London, UK) as President, with the obligation to run the organisation for the first year. The Association both focused and widened its scope during the first twelve years, and formally the Association Européenne pour l´Enseignement de l´Architecture (AEEA/EAAE) was born on the 11th of December 1987 when the Statutes were approved by Belgian law of 1919, modified in 1954.

In Milano we will be remembering the death of Le Corbusier 50 years ago, honouring the Great Master. We might also have marked the first 40 years of the EAAE/AEEA, but there is work to be done before we can celebrate a re-established and well-functioning EAAE/AEEA. 2017 will be the right time to unite in the celebration of the Association and its both 30 and 40 year history.

Architecture as a discipline and practice is meeting challenges in the present Europe. The Schools of Architecture are subjects to discussions on economy, capacity, duration of academic education, organisation/structure, and profile/curriculum. The general challenges to Europe are also reflected in our academic and professional world, and creates the framework for the 2015 Annual Conference.

The present Council was elected during the difficult 2013-periode of the Association. The program for the Council of 2013-2015 was partly to investigate and clarify the discussions on management and economy, partly to re-establish and re-formulate the mission, statutes, strategies and programs for the EAAE/AEEA. At the GA in Milano the Council will report about actions and achievement and present a “Workplan 2015-2017” for discussion.

The attendance in Milano will be substantial. Hopefully we will be able to establish a productive atmosphere for networking that can cope with the Chania tradition. I am looking forward to see you in Milano from the 27th to the 30th of August.

Oslo, 21st of August 2015
Karl Otto Ellefsen
EAAE President