Dear Rector,


New School of Architecture and Urbanism, Viseu

I am writing to express my dismay at recent events at the New School of
Architecture and Urbanism.  I have received in London a number of reports
that suggest that a dramatic change has been imposed on the school programme
and curriculum.  If these are true, it seems a great shame, as the School
had an excellent reputation and an important and unique role to play in the
European architectural education scene.

As you may be aware, the International Network for Traditional Building,
Architecture & Urbanism, an educational Charity based in London under the
Patronage of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, is a supporter of the
New School and of the recent and acclaimed conference on Architectural
Education in the 21st Century.  You may not be aware, Sir, that the
Declaration of Viseu that was prepared at the New School has been adopted by
a number of universities around the world and has been hailed as an
important statement by signinficant architects and urban designers across
the globe.

It would be a very great pity if the excellent publicity which your School
has gained for its unique approach to architectural education was to be
wasted by a dramatic change in programme.  I say unique, and I mean it:
There is no other school in Europe that offered such a programme in
traditional design, and only two others in the world.  This was surely a
unique selling point that would in time draw students to Viseu from far and
wide.

In closing, Sir, I would urge you to reconsider your decision with the
greatest seriousness.  You had in the New School of Architecture and
Urbanism an excellent programme and a committed faculty.  These things are
hard found and easily lost.

Yours sincerely,



Dr Matthew Hardy
Secretary, INTBAU