There are several problems resulting in a rather limited amount of cultural diversity in today's architect population. Recent reports have shown that the statistics have been that way since the 1970's resulting in the lack of diverse perspectives in today's architectural population.
According to Spaces, the architecture statistics are showing a lack of diversity, whereas those statistics have not changed for decades. A cited example is that African-Americans make up 12 percent of the total American population, however, only 2 percent are registered architects. Another notable example is that only 25 percent of architects today are female.
The same report suggests that economic diversity is one of the problems faced by architecture, whereas the tuition amounts to a whopping $60,000. The American Institute of Architecture Students claims that the average student will receive their diploma along with a debt of $40,000.
Apparently, many will not stand for this as it is proven that the architectural profession has been dominated by white men for a long time, and change is necessary. Moreover, another report by Spaces claims that there is already discriminatory design damage on the cities and streets of the United States resulting from the lack of diversity. In order for architecture to be in full bloom, different minds and cultures must come together in order to broaden perspectives and avoid discrimination design.
Furthermore, having architects and designers who are from the same culture, social, economic and philosophical background, will produce similar ideas which will reflect in their word as builders of a nation. The report also suggests that not having enough differences will lead to design and architecture being stagnant.
As a result, schools and institutions have started to adopt a new strategy whereas architectural education will be made more accessible. Hopefully, this will eliminate the economic diversity that hinders some people access to such education and training. Even a famous institution like Harvard has adopted this tactic and much more are expected to follow suit.
For starters, the Harvard Graduate School of Design has announced 10-week architecture course that is accessible online. The program is called "Te Architectural Imagination." The latter already appealed to over 30,000 people which prove that many are interested in learning from Harvard.
Fortunately, Harvard hopes to broaden the available courses in the future. That being said, there are plans to include courses such as industrial design and other non-western programs. For now, the program Architectural Imagination is readily available online for everyone to enjoy Harvard class education.
