As the novel opens, the hero, Howard Roark, has just been expelled for insubordination from the Architectural School of the Stanton Institute of Technology. Roark's designs are radically new, never before seen in the field of architecture, "sketches of buildings such as had never stood on the face of the earth." The Dean and members of the faculty are advocates of traditional designs; they want Roark to build in accordance with the established styles of the past. Roark, however, is a modernist designer and a man who thinks for himself. He does not accept the Dean's belief that the rules of architecture come from the thinkers of the past and should, therefore, be uncritically followed by modern designers. He tells the Dean that, in his judgment, there are three rules of design — the building's material, its site, and its purpose. All three rules necessitate an architect's rational assessment of the facts of a building's requirements; none of them can be applied by blind obedience to the work of the past.
Roark's independence extends to matters other than architecture. Even though he recognizes that the career path ahead of him will be arduous, he laughs at his expulsion from school. The school's action will make his future more difficult, but it cannot stop him. Roark's attitude is similar with strangers. People notice Howard Roark when he walks on the streets; he notices no one. In fact, he often arouses resentment in strangers, who somehow cannot explain what they feel when they see Roark. But Roark could walk the streets naked without concern; he has no regard for the evaluations of others.
Roark boards at the home of Mrs. Keating, whose son, Peter, graduates from Stanton with high honors on the same day that Roark is expelled. Keating is handsome, charming, and glib. He receives his high grades not by earning them, but by copying from the masters of the past, giving his teachers what they want and enlisting Roark's aid in solving structural problems. Keating is utterly dependent on others, and he is faced with a difficult decision. He has won a scholarship to the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. But he also has a job offer from Francon and Heyer, the leading architectural firm in the United States. Because either option will greatly impress people, he has no basis upon which to choose. He comes to Roark with the dilemma. Although he would never state it publicly, Keating realizes that Roark understands more of importance about architecture than do his professors, and that Roark loves the subject in a way that his professors do not. Privately, in his own conscience, Keating respects Roark's judgment more than he does the Dean's. Roark tells him that he has made a mistake, that he should not look to others for guidance regarding the decisions of his own life. He tells Keating that an individual must know what he wants in life. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Keating, who makes it clear that she does not want her son in Paris, an ocean away. The decision is made for him: He will go to New York to work for Francon and Heyer.
