Heads of architecture schools call for ‘massive investment’

France needs more architects to tackle environmental crisis, say directors

The heads of all 20 French architecture schools have called for “massive investment” from the government in their institutions to meet a looming shortage of architects. Failure to do so, they warned, will hobble French efforts to meet targets on greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity, as advanced architectural training is essential to both.

In an open letter published in Le Monde, the heads of France’s Higher National Schools of Architecture (ENSAs) said that student numbers at their institutions have stagnated at 20,000 over the past two decades. During that time general student numbers have risen by 28 per cent, while enrolments at engineering schools have increased by 52 per cent.