A word from the Director

Created in 1969 by Malraux, France's National Schools of Architecture, initially called Architectural Teaching Units then Schools of Architecture, are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary. Now under the joint supervision of the French Ministry of Culture (MC) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI), they are asserting their identity as professional higher education institutions with this dual connection. Positioned at the crossroads of artistic, technical and social cultures, the teaching of architecture is proving to be exciting and demanding in equal measure, and is transforming itself in order to anticipate a changing world.

In this context, Toulouse School of Architecture is developing its diversified teaching practices to reflect the issues of ecological and digital transitions, urban and rural transformations and the evolution of tangible and intangible heritage. It is thus committed to supporting the evolution of project management missions and the diversification of the ways in which architects practice their profession. In particular, with National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) in Toulouse, it offers a double architecture/engineering course, enriching its initial and continuing education offering as it moves towards interdisciplinary practices. This is supported by the school's numerous professional and university partnerships, reflecting the specificities of the territory and demand among local authorities which are also partners.

Moreover, as Toulouse School of Architecture has long been involved in research, its laboratory explores current and future issues of architectural, urban and landscape design. Today, it hosts more than forty doctoral students, thus concretising its commitment to the European Bachelor, Master, Doctorate format. It is preparing a new generation of professionals and teacher-researchers, while simultaneously strengthening the international influence of the institution, whose initial course already has fifty or so agreements in place offering students a very diverse range of mobility prospects. Research and international cooperation are therefore essential levers for the pedagogical development of our initial, doctoral and continuing education programmes.

Finally, Toulouse School of Architecture is particularly attached to the diversity of its students' social and cultural origins, which it considers a strength and an asset, an approach that has been part of its tradition since it was founded.

You are therefore all welcome among us and we will strive to live up to your expectations, ambitions and career plans, by responding together to the challenges of a changing world in which the architect must absolutely be a key player in new developments in the living environment.

Pr. Pierre Fernandez,
Director