"These two approaches--concern with the formal aspect of architecture and design and the social twist of that study--have been seen as very distinct, if not diametrically opposed," Burns says. "I think one can't understand the formal solutions and approach unless one understands the social side too. Studying buildings and formal aspects helps you to understand the social, and one shouldn't look at one without the other."

Working at the GSD has given Burns a different approach to the study of the history of architecture. "Here at the GSD, I'm working with architects that have perceptions and skills that an art historian doesn't have, and this has stimulated my own understanding of architecture," Burns says.

The GSD also puts much more of an emphasis on architectural history than other graduate architecture programs, Burns says. "There's a general awareness now that history forms an integral part of an architectural education. Its value is not so much to provide motifs but as a lab in which you can explore issues and arrive at a deeper understanding of what architecture is."

'Childhood Experiences'

Burns says that his interest in studying architecture and its history extends back to experiences he had during his youth. "I think [my interest in this field] goes back to childhood experiences. One of my earliest memories is of staying in an old hotel in Birmingham. I'd never been in a building on that scale before. I still remember the enormous corridors. Things like that really do form one's interests."

During his undergraduate years, Burns, who grew up in London, studied general history at Cambridge University. He then remained at Cambridge for several years, serving as a fellow in architectural history at King's College and studying there for a graduate degree simultaneously.

"I still find my history background useful," says Burns, who has been at the GSD for two years. "People come up with problems [in understanding different approaches toward design], and because I have that background, I am at least able to point them in the right sort of direction."

Before coming to Harvard, Burns served as a professor at the Courtauld Institute of the University of London, which combines a fine arts department with an art museum. "It's like the Fogg in the Harvard system," he says.

Undergraduate Awareness

Burns says he is disappointed that more students in the College do not cross-register and take GSD courses and seminars, most of which are open to undergraduates without any prerequisites. He cited the lack of GSD course listings in the undergraduate course catalog as one reason why few undergraduates take architecture and design classes.

"We like to have undergrads, especially because they have a different focus and can make a considerable contribution to seminars and lecture courses," Burns said.