The Hungarian Student, 1958 (2. évfolyam, 1-7. szám)
1958 / 4. szám
4 the Hungarian student ARCHITECTURE IN HUNGARY By A.K. I R C (Continued from page 3.) time IRC assisted in the processing and placement of students in every country in Europe. Eighty-two students were taken by IRC to France; twenty-two students were accorded maintenance grants in Belgium. In Munich, Germany, a home for refugee students is being maintained which houses eighteen Hungarian and two North Korean students. $20,000 was donated to the German Red Cross for the student home in Hannover which houses eighteen Hungarian students. In Yugoslavia, an IRC representative, working under the aegis of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, made a complete survey of all Hungarian students and coordinated all student placements. Eight of the Hungarian students stranded in Yugoslavia were given direct IRC scholarships in Switzerland. The IRC Hungarian resettlement program in the United States covered close to 2,000 Hungarian refugees. In accordance with the traditional emphasis of the IRC, more than one half of the refugees resettled by the International Rescue Committee were professionals. In the resettlement of scientists, IRC co-operated closely with the National Academy of Sciences. Of the IRC-sponsored Hungarian newcomers, 304 declared upon arrival in Camp Kilmer that they either were university students in Hungary or that they felt qualified to enroll at an American College. » The U.S. Student Program iU . The sehol yship program for Hungarian students wait initiated on November 23, 1956, by a litter to all college presidents in the United States signed jointly by Mr. Kenneth Holland, the President of the Institute of International Education, Mr. Angier Biddle Duke, the President of the International Rescue Committee, and Mr. Buell G. Gallagher, the Chairman of World University Service. This letter explained the student emergency and contained the fo11 owing appeal: “The International Rescue Committee, the Institute of International Education and the World University Service believe that American colleges and universities should know the facts and should have an opportunity to record their interest in receiving Hungarian students.” From this modest beginning, which was soon joined in by all American resettlement agencies active in the Hungairan emergency, developed the co-operative undertaking which resulted in the intensive English seminars and the scholarship program, previously described in the pages of The Hungarian Student. Thus, it became possible for 231 students sponsored by IRC to enroll in American institutions of higher learning. * • * IT WAS GOETHE who said that “architecture is frozen music.” This may seem to be an unusual declaration, but everyone knows that we are surrounded by walls and buildings, just as we are surrounded by sounds. It is an honor for us, as architects, to open a series of articles which will deal with the different trades and professions in architecture. This was determined by the fact that there are three architects among the leaders of the AHS, and that architecture is a transit between technology and art. The System First of all, we will emphasize that the system of the education of students in the architecture field in Hungary is in many ways different from that of the United States. It is a rule that people of different countries are different; their taste, philosophy, and traditions vary. That dfiference, therefore, will naturally become evident in their architectural education also. Students in Hungary before entering a university have to pass an examination which is called the “matúra.” The American student may enter college after he graduates from high school. Between the two preparatory educations there is a great deal of difference, however. [See The Hungarian Student February 1958, “High Schools and Gymnasiums: Two Forms of Education.”] This means that although the Hungarian system of education also prescribes basic subjects in the freshman year, such as mathematics, chemistry, or physics, the students are able to begin their studies on a somewhat higher level owing to the fact that they received more detailed preparation in the gymnasium. It is also true that the American freshman uses the brush, the aquarelle, and tempera for the first time in his life, while the Hungarian has already experimented with those instruments in high school. Thus, the picture of two types of education, in different parts of the world, develops. The Hungarian, probably because of his more detailed preparation, is able to see more complicated problems. He is also used to a hard system of education. His American colleague, on the contrary, acquaints himself with his future profession in a more relaxed manner; he meets more summarizing, “encyclopedic” subjects. The Student All this is not without psychological consequences. The Hungarian, feeling the first year’s system too tight, criticizes it, is often discontented, and would like to exact changes in the system. It is interesting to note that during the last ten years, educational reforms were made at least five times. It is also characteristic that these changes often contradicted each other. One year the emphasis is on the practical, the next year everything makes a 180 degree turn and everyone has to think more theoretically. We would like to quote here the words of a Hungarian professor of architecture who, only two years ago, was still teaching in Budapest, and who is now holding the chair of architecture at an American college of high repute. He remarked how much more modestly and industriously American students carry out their tasks. They criticize less than the Hungarians. They might grasp less because they do not want to know all the architectural styles of history at once, or change the world, but while they learn with less haste, they learn more thoroughly. They become types who know the use of handbooks, the employment of “tricks.” In other words, Americans are more practical than the sometimes “to deep” Hungarians. On the other hand, Hungarian students who worked in communities at home sometimes think more independently than those who are used to freedom. Lecturers and Professors It is difficult to write about the teaching staff. Their knowledge—speaking now about the best colleges of both countries —is of a high rank. It is impossible to get an architectural chair in either the United States or Hungary without the proper background and experience. Teachers in the United States usually move around from one place to another, they are not fixed to their jobs. It is a usual procedure in America to invite famous men to hold a series of lectures; in many cases they prove to be professors at two or three universities teaching their own special field of science. In the University in Budapest, on the other hand, a scientist has to serve for many years as an assistant, adjunctus, and docens, before he can become a professor. In this way the “fresh” spirit of the colleges in the United States is not found in Hungary, but the spirit of the institution as a whole, the outline of the system of education is perhaps clearer, more homogeneous. Subject Matter The subject matter is the enemy to be overcome with the help of teachers. If we dig into the different schedules of different American colleges, we get an uneven picture. The architectural section of the University of North Carolina emphasizes the art in teaching architecture, while the wellbalanced program of the New York Pratt Institute represents art and technology with equal importance. The “traditional” (Continued on page 5.)
