HKU Bulletin April 2006 (Vol. 7 No. 2)

18 19 There Is Room at the Top T he University’s mission of establishing itself as one of the world’s top academic institutions has moved one step closer with the appointment of award winning architect, Professor Ralph Lerner, FAIA. Lerner, former Dean of Princeton University School of Architecture, began his Deanship here last month by announcing that he has very high expectations for the Faculty. “Any new deanship is six month of listening very carefully to find out what the history, customs and traditions of the place are, and to try and build on those to take the school to a higher level,” he explained. “And I’m happy to say everyone agrees that needs to be done.” As George Dutton `27 Professor at Princeton, he brings a wealth of knowledge, both as educator and practicing architect, to his aim of making the Faculty a leader in the region and pre- eminent internationally. His is a two-fold vision; in regional terms, he hopes to reposition the Faculty as the leader in East Asia while at the same time ensuring that it takes a rightful place as one of the top faculties of architecture internationally. “I would say there are ten to 12 top schools internationally and it seems to me that not only is this Faculty poised to go in that direction but it’s time that a school in East Asia joined that grouping. “In any academic discipline there is a discourse and we need the people and programmes to join that discourse. The discourse in architecture runs, at one end, from the technological through the artistic to the cultural, so there are many things that need to be done from that point of view. “The trick is to enter into that discourse and at the same time create a profoundly strong programme focused on the education of architecture.” He considers the one unique element that makes his vision even more challenging and interesting is the presence of a very strong Department of Real Estate and Construction at The University of Hong Kong. “It has a different set of interests and folding these two separate concerns together can make a unique faculty. So the uniqueness is already here. “But how do you make a unique Faculty of Architecture? Now if you don’t have the proper magic wand to utilize what’s already here you need to bring together a superb group of people as a teaching staff.” This, he said, will primarily involve bringing in new people although he does not expect to increase the size of the Faculty beyond the normal increases as part of the three-three- four initiative. Lerner has won numerous international design commendations most notable among them are five Progressive Architecture (PA) Awards including a first for the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. In 2003 his plan for Lower Manhattan received a PA Design Citation and in 2004 his firm was part of a team of finalists in the NYC2012 Olympic Village Design Competition. He said he chose to take the appointment because of the enthusiasm he encountered concerning the Faculty. “The level of interest in this Faculty, internationally, is tremendous. East Asia is where it’s happening. The level of enthusiasm I met in the US and Europe whenever I talked about the Faculty of Architecture and its visions here was enormous.” Now he intends to focus on the quality of staff, students and programmes. “The ability of our programmes to be anticipatory of where the discipline is going is very important. It’s through that anticipatory quality that we will become a leader. “The current three-year system is a legacy of a system that is pretty-much coming to an end in most places and I see it as a healthy change to make consistent higher education world-wide. This produces a greater degree of transparency for students and it’s an excellent opportunity for this Faculty to reassess its mission.” In terms of internationalisation he stresses that: “The culture of Architecture is international. “I applaud the University’s goal to continue to increase the number of overseas students because it signals a form of openness that is necessary for higher education to thrive, and I would say doubly-so for architecture. We all practise internationally now.” PEOPLE