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A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines. - Frank Lloyd Wright |
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In this edition: January Community Snapshot
Architecture Club - Gentlemen Only - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Member Spotlight
Anel's blog post on research she's doing for the perfect Rammed Earth mixture attracted a lot attention and gathered many comments and suggestions. Click here to read more or contribute. read more
Read Keith's topical blog post on Low Cost 'Subsidy' Housing, which has already attracted over 10 comments, and give your 2 cents worth. read more
Gavin is a shoe, interior, architectural, furniture and theatre designer, animator and artist with work featured in Fair lady, Garden and Home and Country Living magazines. If you're a small business owner, read his survival guide for small business. read more - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - Popular blog posts
• CPD (Architectural Professions) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - HELP US SHAPE DESIGNMIND This is your space, and as creative professionals, we'd love you to help shape it. We're looking for interesting content from you, the Members! Are you busy with, or do you have completed projects you're particularly proud of? Why not shout it out to the design world! Or, perhaps there are some thorny, controversial issues you'd like us to cover? Please mail us your thoughts - positive and negative, encouraging or outrageous to our team on info@designmind.co.za and we'll work on making this mail and the DesignMind website the premier design industry meeting place. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
You can post Jobs to the DesignMind Network for FREE... click here to see how! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SACAP confirms the profession remains a white gentlemen's club The team at DesignMind would like to wish all its valued members a most successful and happy 2009. If the member activity and several hundred new recruits recorded in the first 3 weeks of January '09 are any indication of things to come, DesignMind is going to be even more of a hive of interesting activity and 'meeting of minds' this year. We would also like to extend our warmest welcome to all our new members; especially, the 47 members who joined us in the last week. We hope that you enjoy contributing to and benefiting from this flourishing hub of industry insights, information and opinion. There are now 278 blog posts on DesignMind, with 'CPD (Architectural Professions)' being the post popular blog post on the site to date. There are also 339 Forums, 43 groups to join and 41 videos to peruse, 'Revan Architecture' being a current favourite. Our photographic gallery is also steadily increasing. It now boasts a whopping 1970 images, with Elmo Swart being our most avid photographic contributor. 001 is the most popular photo on DesignMind at the minute. Lastly, make sure you don't miss out by checking out the 52 events diarised. Not yet a member? Join now and don't miss out on the benefits of connecting and collaborating with your colleagues in the DesignMind community. Registration is easy and membership is only a couple of clicks away. Kelvin Jonck and the DesignMind team. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SACAP confirms the profession a white gentlemen’s club This month's highlight is an article revealing who is studying architecture. The statistical evidence provided by SACAP suggests that architectural activity is still taking place in 'the Cigar lounge' so to speak. What we want to know from you is why?
In his book Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest, Arnold Berke describes the career of a woman in a man's profession. Although Colter designed at the end of the 19th Century, it seems that the stereotype has not changed much. In fact, last year's statistics on students in architecture show that it is still a man's profession - a white man's profession to be exact.
Ten institutions in the country are in the business of training architects, namely: Of the 2895 students that enrolled in one of the 6 years of architectural study at these institutions last year, 60% were male and 56% were white. According to the Statistical Report on South African Schools of Architecture 2008 for the South African Council for Architectural Professionals (SACAP), there are over 600 more men than women studying architecture and about 350 more white students than black students. Although differing in capacity, each institution has on average 320 students from various levels in Departments of Architecture, with Nelson Mandela Metropolitan hosting the most with 502 (17.3%) followed by the University of Pretoria with 458 (15.8%). More interesting than the number students at each institution is the number that qualify and go on to further their studies at post graduate level.
Student Drop-outs Yet despite the steady decrease in students towards later years, the number increases from 107 to 124 between fifth and sixth years. Although no reasons can be attributed for the increase, SACAP propose that it could be a result of the larger intake in sixth year.
Gender Bias In fact, of the 95 candidates that graduated in their sixth year, only 29 were women - 76% of the graduating body were men.
Race in Architecture The attrition rates also indicate more black and white students in sixth year than fifth year. This means, according to the study, that if a quarter of the students in sixth year and less than 20% of fifth year students are black, that of the graduates for 2009, only 52 will be black, while 179 will be white. Although the study acknowledges that not much can be generalised or deduced from these once-off findings over one year, it does seem to indicate that fewer women and black students are entering the fields of architecture at first year level. This accounts for the fewer graduates in these demographics in later years. A concrete study across many years will indicate more exacting statistics and reasons for the fewer numbers of black and female students in architectural studies as well as comparisons between attrition rates in architectural studies and that of other degrees.
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The Architecture Club - Gentlemen Only? 
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