João Manuel Carvalho Economist, MAS Urban & Regional Planning, PhD Urban Planning,

HOW REAL ESTATE EDUCATION IS PERCEIVED AT AN ARCHITECTURE COLLEGE – BUILT ENVIRONMENT OR ASSET MANAGEMENT?THE 5th EUROPEAN REAL ESTATE SOCIETY EDUCATION SEMINAR João Manuel Carvalho Economist, MAS Urban & Regional Planning, PhD Urban Planning, Professor at Universidade Técnica de Lisboa / Faculdade de Arquitectura

TWO BASIC APPROACHES FOR REAL ESTATE EDUCATION • Designation under which some schools have real estate and construction departments focused on non-economic subjects • In Portugal there is no school in which all real estate subjects are grouped in such a way • Overall designation for the economic and management approach to real estate • Real estate as a scientific subject has mostly been developed under this approach and is mostly seen as belonging there. BUILT ENVIRONMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT

CONTENTS • What is the point? • Context of analysis • What is Real Estate? • What should Architects be taught on Real Estate? • How should Real Estate be inserted in College curricula? • Conclusion

CONTENTS • What is the point? • Context of analysis • What is Real Estate? • What should Architects be taught on Real Estate? • How should Real Estate be inserted in College curricula? • Conclusions

WHAT IS THE POINT ? – TO CHECK WHAT THE PLACE OF REAL ESTATE CAN BE IN ARCHITECTURE COLLEGES 1) CHANGES HAVE OCURRED IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS THAT REDUCE THE FINANCIAL CLOUT OF REAL ESTATE 2) ENVIRONMENTAL ITEMS ARE GAINING WEIGHT AND CAN ONLY BE DEALT THROUGH PHYSICAL VARIABLES 3) THE BOLOGNA “COMPETENCES” APPROACH MIGHT RECCOMMEND ARCHITECTURE TO BE TAUGHT REFERRED TO MARKETS

THE PLACE OF REAL ESTATE IN ARCHITECTURE COLLEGES – SHOULD IT BE ENHANCED IN THE NAME OF REAL ESTATE EDUCATION? 1) PROBLEMS IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM ARE QUITE INTERTWINNED WITH REAL ESTATE MARKETS AND VALUES Reputation effects for real estate that might make real estate education funding more difficult Real estate education being seen as already included in “finance education” and therefore not needing a place of itself Possible consequences

THE PLACE OF REAL ESTATE IN ARCHITECTURE COLLEGES – A NEW ROLE FOR PHYSICAL ITEMS IN REAL ESTATE EDUCATION? 2) DESIGN BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT AS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES COME TO THE FOREFRONT The social relevance of real estate may become more centred on environment and less on finance Real estate education would have a new focus on sustainability, energy and management of externalities Public space production may acquire a stronger role in private developments

THE PLACE OF REAL ESTATE IN ARCHITECTURE COLLEGES – A NEW ROLE FOR MARKET ISSUES WITHIN COLLEGE ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION? 3) BOLOGNA “COMPETENCES” MAY SHIFT ARCHITECTURE TEACHING FROM “THEORETICAL/PUBLIC ORDER/NON-COMMISSIONNED” TO “MARKET” ARCHITECTURE • Architectural education will have a stimulus to approach real estate education • Design issues would then be seen as value enhancing devices, through higher sales procceeds, lower costs (construction and operation) or both • Real estate education would find in the relationship design-value a promising research and training field.

CONTEXT OF ANALYSIS(the survey – weighted preferences) • PhD Professors; 32 valid questionnaires; • Architects (17), Urban Planners (4), Engineers (4), Landscape Architects (1), Geographers (4), Economists (1), Historians (1); • The Faculdade de Arquitectura of Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (the largest and oldest Portuguese school of Architecture); first launched in the XVI century; 1.800 pupils; • Small questionnaire with 5 questions: “what do you preferably associate real estate with” “what should be “real estate” in Architects’ education” “what are the European schools of Architecture you would take as reference” “how should real estate education curricula be provided” “how do you see yourself in-between university and professional market”

CONTEXT OF ANALYSIS(the rationale) • Find out up to what point “Real Estate” is a shared notion in the Architecture College culture • Verify if the dominant Real Estate concept complies with a contemporary market itemization • Know which might be the assigned purpose of Real Estate education within the Architecture curriculum • Check the previous results with what has been considered a good school of Architecture (e.g., does it have Real Estate chairs?) • Acknowledge what would be the preferable way to have Real Estate education integrated in College curricula (e.g., is the Architecture College the best institution to provide it?) • Check it all with the interviewees’ degree of direct dependence on any kind of market (they mostly see themselves as academics – i.e., outside the market)

WHAT IS “REAL ESTATE” IN THE ARCHITECTURE COLLEGE? • 38% = Real Estate Development; 20% = Real Estate Agency 17% = Construction; 14% = Housing; 6% = Speculation on urban land; 5% = Real Estate Funds 0% = Mortgage credit • Relatively low proportion for Real Estate Development which is intriguing as Architects’ clients tend to be Real Estate Developers • “Construction”+”Housing” adds to 31% reflecting Architects’ perspective of client being a Housing Developer which is mostly seen as a “Builder” – i.e., Architects seem to find it difficult to tell a Developer from a Contractor • Financial aspects of Real Estate are only marginally mentioned • On the other hand Agency has a strong image on Real Estate

WHAT SHOULD ARCHITECTS BE TAUGHT ON REAL ESTATE? • 24% = real estate market; 25% = optimization of architectural design; 14% = real estate value; 15% = building management; 13% = quantity surveying; 5% = BIM procedures; 4% = real estate marketing • Only 44% (optimization + value + BIM) can be seen as directly connected to design, which is the nuclear Architect’ s concern • 28% (building management + quantity surveying) relate to non-Architect specific professional fields and where construction features weight significantly • Non-physically targeted knowledge (i.e., economic & management issues) represents only 28%.

HOW SHOULD REAL ESTATE BE INSERTED IN COLLEGE CURRICULA? • 25% = specific chairs in the Architecture curriculum; 20% = specific chairs in the Economics curriculum; 20% = specific chairs in the Engineering curriculum; 18% = specific chairs in the Management curriculum; 10% = specific course at an Architecture College; 6% = specific course at an Economics or related College; 1% = specific course at an Engineering College • 73% don’t seem to consider Real Estate should be dealt through specific courses, but rather as a complementary education • Anyway, if a course, it should mostly be a Management Course

CONCLUSIONS • Lack of an educated approach to Real Estate – which is detected through the underrating of the Developer’s and of the Investor’s roles. • Real Estate agency manages to introduce itself as “the” Real Estate, even among the highly educated. • The plight for a “Built Environment” approach in Real Estate education seems to be mitigated by the acknowledgement that Real Estate, if taken autonomously, is a Management concern. • When “Built Environment” is the major concern in Real Estate education it seems to be more focused on building than on design.

CONCLUSIONS • Preferences envisage Real Estate education more as complementary (e.g., “asset management” chairs in Architecture and Engineering) than autonomous. • Architecture Schools of reference include, with high and similar weight, a school where Real Estate education is important (Delft) and another where it is not (Barcelona) and, for scattered mentions (9), 3 schools where Real Estate education is relevant (Valle Giulia, Viena and FAUTL itself) and 6 where it is not (Porto, Milan, Lausanne, Navarra, Leuven and Karlsruhe). • The overall feeling is that Architecture Colleges are an underdeveloped market for Real Estate education that deserve a try.

João Manuel Carvalho Economist, MAS Urban & Regional Planning, PhD Urban Planning,