Building Pathways in Architectural Education: Educating the Un‐Architect

Abstract

Architectural education faces mounting pressure to rethink its pedagogies in response to technological, environmental and social change. Inspired by Allan Kaprow's concept of the ‘un‐artist’ (1971), this article introduces the un‐architect as a transdisciplinary, reflexive practitioner who resists institutional hierarchy, values process over product and treats architecture as civic practice. Drawing on historical and contemporary shifts in pedagogy, and through theoretical analysis and selected case studies, the article argues that architectural education must move beyond specialisation and commodified knowledge towards integrative, ethically grounded learning centred on community engagement, ecological responsibility and participatory design. It calls for a redefinition of architectural education as a space of critical inquiry and shared authorship—where learning is co‐creation rather than instruction—and positions the un‐architect as a position for cultivating adaptability, creativity and social consciousness indispensable for navigating the complexities of 21st‐century practice.