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As the first MArch students graduate from Ireland's only master's course, Stephen Best considers the school's pedagogical approach
Cork City is a small place with a big city feel and a big city attitude. Pride abounds, and proud places understand the value of architecture. It is even said that Cork's red and white flag was inspired by St Anne's in Shandon, a rough red sandstone church dressed in white ashlar, overlooking the city.
After years of serious lobbying by the local community and with support from the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, University College Cork and the Cork Institute of Technology came together in 2006 to pool their resources and fund the opening of a new school - the Cork Centre for Architectural Education (CCAE). The result of this hard work is about to bear fruit. In September, the first cohort of 22 MArch students will graduate through the school.
CCAE's director, its first, Professor Kevin McCartney describes their ambitions simply. For him, the school is responsive to its community and presents a broad focus on architectural humanities with an eye on technology in its delivery.
McCartney and his team have forged a radical agenda focused on reflective inquiry, where the studio culture is infected by the academic disciplines and does not stand alone. It is an explicit relationship: one is used as a vehicle to...