Architecture
The addition of our exciting undergraduate architecture programme expands the breadth of existing built environment research within the School.
Our aim
Our Architecture Group is research-led and has three overlapping, primary strands to its research:
Research Themes
Digital Architecture
Our work augments existing digital design research within the School – spanning Building Information Modelling (BIM) and virtual reality – with a broader range of technologies and design processes including computational design and mixed reality design. It also enhances the integration of design and making with digital fabrication technologies and processes – such as free-form concrete – through the use of 3D printers, robotic construction and other computer numerically controlled (CNC) technologies like adaptive and smart technologies.
Our Experimental Officer in Digital Architecture is based in the new Mixed Reality and Robotic Research Lab and directly supports this thread of research.
Architectural Tectonics
The Architectural Tectonics thread expands the School’s existing materials (e.g. concrete) and construction methods research (e.g. offsite, modular construction) through strategic explorations in the art of construction, such as material innovations, efficiency and waste along with construction quality, technologies and finishes.
This thread of research also has a strong laboratory presence and benefits from the redevelopment of our laboratory facilities and the support of the School’s manufacturing and modelling technician.
Urban Theory and Design
Urban Theory and Design explores our urban futures within the context of today’s global challenges – including future climates, population density and green spaces. It aims to link and scale up currently separate threads of research within the School – such as transport, water management, building energy and urban resilience – through concepts such as place-making and urban ecology.
This work is of particular strategic importance, enabling us to apply holistic urban expertise to large-scale research challenges on a cross-disciplinary urban-scale.