The failure to investigate allegations of bullying and sexism at the Architectural Association have damaged both the school and the architecture profession, according to tutors and alumni.
As recriminations grew over the firing of Eva Franch i Gilabert, the prestigious London architecture school's first female director, there were claims that the school had "stuck the knife in" without proper scrutiny of complaints about her.
The Spanish architect was fired on Monday following a vote of no confidence in her leadership.
"It is an open secret that the vote of no confidence was mobilised by allegations of bullying by the director and of sexism towards her," said Eyal Weizman, a former AA student who is the founder of research agency Forensic Architecture. "Because these allegations are very serious the council should have given all sides the chance to be heard and for the issue to be investigated before taking drastic action," said Weizman.
"Without understanding and confronting these issues, which have poisoned architectural culture for decades, there would remain a cloud over the school, indeed over architecture," he said.
"Instead, on the sideways, the AA has now thrown its first woman director, an intellectual powerhouse of ideas of a calibre not seen for decades."
Issues raised "deserve careful investigation"
"The dismissal of Eva Franch i Gilabert as director comes as a shock to some women in the school com...