IN-PERSON: Learning. Life. Work

Abstract

This project brings the work of twentieth-century British architect and pedagogue Cedric Price (1934 – 2003) to a consideration of educational thought. Why is there a need for such an exploration, now? Twenty years following his death, Price’s archetypal radicality has outlasted its 1960s origins and yet paradoxically, his legacy remains largely static. Although academic literature maintains reverence for Price’s architectural oeuvre, formal investigations regarding his value within the current educational realm have yet to take shape. This paper is as equally retrospective as it is speculative. The writing is rooted in the belief that education owes its structures of thought to the tenets upon which it is staged. Written from the vantage point of a student, this piece brings to light the intrinsic generosity of Price’s lesser-known works. Primary focus lies upon on Price’s teachings at the 1967 Design Fete at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Further study involves Price’s subsequent scheme for a fully flexible, decentralized, open-access school for higher learning, entitled ATOM. This project endeavours a nuanced re-consideration of Price’s ATOM as evaluative educational tool. The intention of this exploration is two-fold: it attempts to illustrate how Pricean principles of building design and pedagogy may be utilized within creativity-orientated educational practices. Secondly, it seeks to join others who wish to widen the remit of critique regarding architectural education and current regimes of learning within the walls of its institutions.