Architectureat Loughborough

Undergraduate study

Architecture

at Loughborough University

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About the course

This course has been created as a direct response to the changing needs of architectural practise, to rethink the possibilities for the graduating architect and reimagine the relationships between professions. It sees value and unlimited potential in the multidisciplinary school in which it is situated.

Listed in The Telegraph’s 10 best universities to study architecture. Read the full article.

The educational model is grounded with early real world experience and practical applications allowing creativity and imagination to flourish rather than be limited by it. It is focused on the craft of architecture, on the processes of designing, constructing and occupying buildings.

The course provides the breadth of knowledge required of the architectural discipline as a profession along with an increased focus on building science, business acumen and digital design and fabrication to give graduates the ability to make an immediate impact in practise. The course is taught by a diverse mix of international experts dedicated to student experience and growth.

Curious about architectural education?
Play This documentary film by Arbuckle Industries provides an interesting glimpse into architectural education and the uniqueness of studio culture.

High quality learning experience

WACOM tablet being used

We are committed to the provision of an exceptional educational experience with small cohorts of 40 to 60 students. Where many other architecture courses have increased their numbers, our approach is to focus on quality over quantity allowing for significant dialogue with tutors and excellent access to facilities.

The School’s exceptional resource support includes a dedicated workspace from day one within our open-plan studio spaces which allow for the cross-fertilisation of ideas between years and the formation of a lively, tight-knit creative culture for peer-to-peer support and learning. Further, every student will receive a graphics tablet for Part A of their studies, loaded with all the software to succeed on the course. The student experience is enhanced from practitioner engagement and contributions to the teaching delivery along with opportunities to participate in ‘live’ build projects.

Professional Accreditation - RIBA / ARB

This degree course is accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The visiting boards commended the School for its innovative pedagogy, investment in facilities and staff including dedicated studio space, collegiality and enthusiasm of staff and personalised student experience and is Prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB).

Key course features

We have developed a number of key features that we feel collectively sets our course apart from others and creates a unique flavour of architectural education.

By developing a new course at this time we are in a strong position to address the recent RIBA recommendations enabling us to deliver an innovative course in terms of content, delivery, timeframe and structure.

We offer a BArch degree which brings the elements of a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) together to allow our students’ creativity to flourish with a sound technical understanding.

Student work

The images shown are sample student work from our first year students.

Our facilities

Our own building allows small cohorts to work across two levels of open plan studio space to allow the cross-fertilisation of ideas between years and the formation of a lively, tight-knit culture for peer-to-peer support and learning.

Other facilities include an analogue workshop for wood, metal and plastic and a digital fabrication lab equipped with state-of-the-art 3D printers, laser cutters and CNC machines.

Keith Green Building

The devoted home to Architecture. Rather than treating the building as a finished object, it will be used as a ‘living’ lab – a tactile and interactive part of our teaching and research environment. For example, the fully glazed south west facade for the studio spaces will contain dynamic electro chromatic glazing. The tint level will respond to the amount of light detected by a number of sensors placed on the exterior of the building.

Hewson Studio

Our Hewson Studio will provide an additional double-height studio space for our students to undertake studio and design modules in an open-plan and well-lit environment, which is ideal for boosting creativity and bringing projects to life.

Archi-quad

An open green space in front of the Architecture building which will become a lively, interactive test ground for architectural interventions as it evolves as the place to ‘hang out’.

The Factory

Sir Frank Gibb Laboratories

The School has over 3,000sqm of lab space spread across materials, geotechnics, structures, building energy, hydraulic engineering and more. The lab space is in the process of refurbishment to create a dedicated analogue workshop, a digital fabrication lab, a large double-height assembly space and mixed reality and robotics research lab (MR3L) all of which will allow students to test and explore ideas.

STEMLab

The university’s dedicated engineering facility full of state-of-the-art workshop, digital fabrication and computer laboratories.

Igloo

S Building

A virtual reality dome shared across engineering.

Sir Frank Gibb Building

The building is the home of teaching and research for the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, including for all the other courses within our school too.

Test Houses

The school owns several test homes where research is conducted with various monitoring technologies.

Contact us

General enquires: BArch.Adm@mailbox.lboro.ac.uk

Course leader (Dr Simon Richards): S.Richards@lboro.ac.uk