Some impressions of the department

Abstract

This thesis comprises a series of impressions of the Department of Architecture, garnered after a long absence from M.I.T. These impressions are meant as an intervention in the Department's current self-analysis and debate over the future of architectural education. Comments are drawn from the experience of several visits, from discussions with students and faculty, and from a reading of a number of the texts produced as part of the on-going process of curricular review. Additional commentary is provided on the author's sense of the portrait of the Department currently dominant in the profession generally. Finally, a number of suggestions as to possible futures for the Department are provided.