RCA to restructure design disciplines

The Royal College of Art has regrouped its academic courses to create six schools instead of the present eight in a bid to boost the autonomy of individual schools.

Among the main changes is the linking of Industrial Design, Industrial Design Engineering, Architecture and Furniture Design courses to form the School of Architecture and Design.

First head of the new school will be John Drane, professor of Industrial Design Engineering, with Nigel Coates and Ron Arad handling architecture and furniture respectively. This grouping follows “good Bauhaus principles”, says RCA rector Christopher Frayling.

Communications will include film, TV and animation, while drawing joins Humanities. The other three are Applied Arts, Fashion and Textiles, and Fine Art, which includes photography.

According to Frayling, the changes have been made because two of the existing schools were too small to be viable, given the extra responsibility each school now takes.

The schools have been organised rationally, he adds. These days it makes more sense, for example, for film, TV and animation to be in Communications than to be separate, he says.

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