Multidisciplinarity. A Brief History of UP1 (1968-1984) Multidisciplinariteit. Een korte geschiedenis van UP1 (1968-1984) En Nl

Résumé En

After the strikes of May 1968 and the closure of the architecture department at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA), new unités pédagogiques (UPs1) appeared across France. Sometimes they rose up out of the ashes of former schools, but often they were formed by hiring new teaching staff and creating curricula from scratch. The goal: to turn architecture into a legitimate university discipline based on knowledge instead of artistic arbitrariness.The educational objectives of UP1 (located on quai Malaquais in Paris), offered a critical alternative to the Beaux-Arts system by basing its educational objectives on a new conception of the architect and his role in post-industrial society. The curriculum was divided into three two-year programmes. This division was maintained until 1984, when a reform with impact on both administrative and pedagogical levels, marked a turning point in the development of UP1’s identity. It took the name of Ecole d’architecture de Paris Villemin, and reconceptualised its curriculum by focusing on interdisciplinary issues in two programs of two and three years.