ARCHITECTURE:The University Is Now On Air
The idea that new technologies such as radio and television could be used to bring education to a wide audience began to surface as long ago as the 1920s. But it was not until the early 1960s that the idea gained momentum, when the UK Labour party under Prime Minister Harold Wilson decided to take action to address the continuing exclusion from higher education of people from lower income groups, building on the vision of social reformer and political activist Michael Young.
By Efi Mihalarou
Photo: Canadian Centre for Architecture Archive
The exhibition “The University Is Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture UK / 1975–1982” at Canadian Centre for Architecture, offers a close reading of Open University’s pioneering case study: A305, “History of Architecture and Design, 1890–1939”, this third-year undergraduate arts course, offered by the Open University via television and radio broadcasts between 1975 and 1982, was a radical project for sharing knowledge through the convergence of mass media and mass education. When Labour Party won the UK election in 1964, Harold Wilson appointed Jennie Lee as Minister for the Arts and asked her to take over the project. A committee of university vice-chancellors, educationalists and television broadcasters began planning in 1965, and The Open University (OU) became a manifesto commitment in 1966. Professor Walter Perry was appointed the OU’s first vice-chancellor in 1969, and its Foundation Secretary was Anastasios Christodoulou. With a staff of 70-80 people, they transferred their offices to Walton Hall, a small country estate in the new city of Milton Keynes. Right from the start the OU adopted a radical open admissions policy, while attaining the highest standards of scholarship. It was a model which proved extremely popular with the public. When the OU accepted its first students in 1971, 25,000 people enrolled and 20,000 registered on a course, at a time when the total student population in the UK was only about 130,000. A305 History of Architecture and Design 1890-1939 was OU’s course dedicated to architecture. Tim Benton’s explanation of the course in AA Files in 1975 clarifies its purpose: Broadcasting the Modern Movement, and discloses its Post-Modern condition, when it was finally possible to return Modern Architecture to History, radically transcending earlier models of learning and education. It was scheduled to broadcast after working hours during the week and before sports and entertainment during the weekend, to properly synchronize audiences and production. The timetable also disclosed the protagonists of each “episode” of this course, or, conversely, the list of “guest lecturers” of the course, merging broadcasting and academia. A timetable of the broadcasts can been found here.
Info: Curator: Joaquim Moreno, Canadian Centre for Architecture, 1920 rue Baile, Montreal, Duration: 15/11/17-1/4/18, Days & Hours: Wed & Fri-Sun 11:00-18:00, Thu 11:0021:00, www.cca.qc.ca
