In the opening lines of Experience and Education, John Dewey posits that “mankind is given to formulating its beliefs in terms of ‘Either-Ors’,” and while this statement can be applied broadly to many situations, it is of particular interest in reference to the education of architects and indeed to the profession, as it exists in America today. We are a profession divided, classified as either designers or executors, thinkers or makers, academicians or practitioners. These labels not only weaken us as individuals, but also curtail our ability to act with common purpose and lessen the authority of our collective voice. SHoP Architects was founded, in large part, to be a “Both-And” entity bridging these divides. As we enter our third decade of addressing these issues in practice, we find ourselves increasingly drawn to also examine the means and methods of education that deliver aspiring young architects into our professional community.

In the medieval guilds of Europe, apprentices and journeymen trained under master masons, and exchanged labor for education and experience. This system evolved in both Europe and later in America, where up until the mid 1800s architects acquired knowledge through some mode of training in the building trades, and the appellation “architect” referred loosely to a master builder who had acquired the skills and status to independently undertake building commissions.