"RIBA vice-president for education Simon Allford said: 'The increase in the popularity of the profession is great - it can only be a positive thing. I think schools will expand and cope with the increase. We shouldn't assume that all the people who study architecture are going to become architects. That is a fundamental mindshift which would allow the degree to grow as much as the universities want it to grow.'
Kate Heron, head of architecture at Westminster, added: 'These application figures show that architecture is a very popular and healthy subject, which is fantastic.'
But external examiner and former Architectural Association professor Tim Ronalds said a lack of resources coupled with higher intakes by many schools could result in a drop in standards.
'This is factory farming and it is likely to produce tasteless chicken,' he said."
