Peter Zellner to launch Free School of Architecture in California
US architect Peter Zellner has announced plans to open a post-graduate architecture school in Los Angeles that won't charge tuition fees.
The Free School of Architecture (FSA) is set to launch in summer 2017 with a class of 12 students and a faculty of 10 teachers, offering 12 courses over six weeks.
The not-for-profit organisation will be tuition- and salary-free. It will "explore the edges of architectural education" according to the website.
However, it will not be accredited nor offer professional degrees, and students will not receive grades nor produce designs and written pieces.
"Students and teachers will be no longer forced into their usual roles and ideas can be literally exchanged for free," said Zellner, who founded LA-based studio Zellner and Company and has taught at the University of Southern California's School of Architecture.
"That doesn't release or excuse either the students or teachers at FSA from having to argue for the value of their ideas," he told The Architect's Newspaper. "In fact, it elevates the need for real debate and exchange."
The announcement follows an earlier article Zellner wrote for AN, in which he said that architectural education is broken and outlined a five-point plan for the construction of a "post-studio model" for teaching:
A call for applications to FSA will be released later this year. Interested students will be asked to write an 800-word essay, which will be reviewed by the organisation's board – still under formation.