Postgraduate research
Practice-Based Architecture PhD
Programme Information, Fees and Study Options
Department(s): Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Entry requirements: Applicants will be qualified practitioner architects with a minimum of 3 years practice-experience
Full-time: NA
Part-time: 6 years
Start date: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October each year.
UK/EU fees: £2,130 (2018/19)
International fees: £10,250 (2018/19)
Location: Loughborough
Application deadline: n/a
Reputation and Support
Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014) and an outstanding 66% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, compared to a national average figure of 43%.
The School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering is outstanding in this regard, having been rated #1 in the UK for Built Environment research.
In choosing Loughborough for your research, you’ll work with and alongside academics who are leaders in their field. You will benefit also from comprehensive support and guidance from our Doctoral College.
Programme Detail
Ethos
This part-time (6 year) PhD programme is tailor-made for practitioner architects wishing to explore an original research topic while remaining in practice. Unlike some practice-related PhD models, our programme does not involve the submission of an extended piece of self-reflective commentary by an architect on his or her previous built work and designs. Instead of this passive approach we take an active one, which involves:
- an architect creating new, research-led work while in practice;
- critical reflection and analysis of this in written and practical form;
- presentation and defence of this work via the ‘design critiques’ typical of architectural pedagogy and practice.
This approach reflects the close alignment of theory and practice in Lu-Arc – the new Architecture section – and also reflects changes in RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) expectations whereby practices are encouraged to build upon their design intuitions with original research that facilitates evidence-based design approaches.
Topics
Lu-Arc welcomes Practice-Based research proposals on a wide breadth of architectural topics and especially around our strengths. These are:
Application and Practice Requirements
Applicants will need to be qualified practitioner architects with a minimum of three years practice-experience. Applications will proceed via submission of an outline of the topic and methodology, a digital portfolio of design work, as well as interview. As the PhD will be situated in practice several formal commitments will be required from the practice concerned. These include:
- a commitment to allow the candidate to work on their research for a minimum of 500 hours per annum;
- a commitment to release the candidate for regular tutorials and crits;
- safeguards on the IP (Intellectual Property) of the resulting research if that research is done in collaboration with others in the practice.
The candidate and School will also have to formally agree on any extra financial contributions that might be required to deliver on the PhD, for example materials required for manufacture or access to specialist laboratories or computation, and these will be decided on a case-by-case basis depending on topic.
Format
The PhD will take the format of a written thesis of 40,000 words as well as a substantial practical component. The practical component might take the format of contributions to the completion of a building project, hand-drawn or computerized visualizations (plans, elevations, sections, axonometrics, etc.), virtual spaces, traditional hand-made models, 3D printed models, structural and material prototypes, mock-ups and installations. It is expected that a semi-public exhibition and discussion of the work should take place towards the end of the period of study. The formal examination, however, will consist of analysis and interrogation of the practical and written components in line with the standard viva voce regulations and practise, and this will be conducted jointly by an internal academic referee as well as an appropriately qualified external practitioner.
Potential Supervisors
Dr Robert Schmidt III
Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Group Lead
Specialist Areas: Rob’s research interest focuses on the practice(s)e of architecture as a micro-political battlefield that involves thousands of quotidian decisions that accumulate into what eventually becomes the building – unravelling these decisions reveal a complex interplay of factors which situate design (and architecture) as an ongoing social process. This interest in bridging theory and practice has been applied in successful research projects regarding designing for adaptability (time and change), urban transformation strategies and collaborative digital design methods (e.g. VR, AR, tangible table).
Dr Simon Richards
Lecturer in Architectural Theory and History
Specialist areas: Simon is keen to supervise topics on any areas related to architectural history and especially theory from the 19th century through to now. He specialises in the following areas: philosophical aesthetics; behaviourism and environmental determinism; the adaptation of vernacular, regional and traditional architectures into contemporary practise.
Professor John Mardaljevic
Professor of Building Daylight Modelling
Specialist areas: Daylight in buildings - simulation/measurement of illumination/spectrum. Application to national/international building standards, conservation, new facade technologies (e.g. electrochromic glazing), health/well-being, rights to light and urban planning. Prof Mardaljevic pioneered the simulation technique known as Climate-Based Daylight Modelling - which is now the basis for research and, increasingly, industry practice worldwide. His practice-based research and consultancy includes major projects such as the New York Times Building and The Hermitage (St. Petersburg).
Dr Nils Jäger
Lecturer in Digital Architecture
Specialist areas: Nils investigates the inhabitation of adaptive architecture and how the human body relates to architecture in general. This includes finding ways in which the built environment can actively and adaptively support the wellbeing of its inhabitants at home, at work, and in leisure settings. Using full-scale prototypes, Nils employs experimental and “in the wild” research methods to examine embodiment, actual and perceived control, as well as agency within adaptive environments.
Further areas of interest are: emerging interactions with architecture made possible by the Internet of Things; smart home/smart cities; digital fabrication; human-building interaction.
Dr Matyas Gutai
Lecturer in Architecture and Construction Technology
Specialist areas: Matyas is a teacher, a practicing architect and a specialist in sustainable architecture and hybrid building materials projects like water-glass (Water House) and Algae-wood that explore how material innovations can lead to new spatial qualities and to new opportunities in architectural design. His research field focuses on Hybrid Architecture, a construction system that can disseminate energy to create energy-based network of city blocks and communities.
Further areas of interest are: thermally active and responsive building envelopes, smart structures and buildings, digital fabrication, emergency shelters, pavilions.
Dr Rachel Cruise
Senior Lecturer in Structural and Architectural Engineering
Specialist areas: Dr Cruise’s research focuses on the relationship between material properties, making processes, design processes (including structural and architectural design), and the resulting buildings. Rachel is particularly interested in how the material world is perceived across construction professions and how this influences the way they design and construct our built environment.
Dr Manuel Cresciani
Senior Lecturer in Architectural Engineering
Specialist areas: Dr Manuel Cresciani is a RIBA Chartered Architect who teaches in several programmes offered by the School and led the Architectural Engineering and Design Management course. Manuel’s research interests revolve around the intersections between the Engineering and Architectural Design. The latest line of investigation explores the legacy of the Olympic venues.
Dr Falli Palaiologou
Lecturer in Architecture and Urban Studies
Specialist areas: Falli’s specialisation is in neighbourhood planning and urban regeneration, using evidence-informed approaches to character assessment and urban design. Dr Palaiologou is interested in design for urban communities, liveable streets, the tensions between urban heritage and urban development, and issues of gentrification and population displacement.
Falli’s other specialist areas include spatial design, space syntax, data for policy, GIS mapping and urban data analytics.
