BSc Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 1)

Overview
Structure
Content
Staff
Applying

Overview

The three-year full-time BSc programme in Architecture aims to develop a creative, diverse and rigorous approach to design from the outset. It provides a broad educational setting within which the study of architecture can be developed at an undergraduate level. It aims to equip students with skills to practice architecture but, as importantly, an understanding of the technological, professional, cultural and architectural contexts within which those skills may be deployed in a knowing and imaginative way.

The programme is based in the studio and the workshop, with 70% of the programme taught and assessed through the Design portfolio. Most of the Design teaching is on a one-to-one tutorial basis with frequent review sessions; nearly all Design tutors are practising architects or design specialists who bring innovative design ideas to the School.

The BSc programme recognises that whilst this education has directly vocational aims, it also intends to introduce students to the wider societal forces which affect them and architectural production by stressing the indivisibility of the architectural, cultural, professional and technological realms. It does this through a programme of four core courses (Design, Technology, History & Theory, and Professional Studies) which support the Design work in each year and are assessed through a combination of coursework, essays and examination.

Successful completion of the BSc Architecture leads to exemption from Part 1 of the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) examinations.

BSc Architecture Units

Structure

Year 1

Year 1 design teaching is centred on the studio, where a sequence of projects that develop the central skills of observation, design and representation, with emphasis on the inventive and intelligent expression of ideas are undertaken.

Year 1 students explore 'ways of seeing': understanding and interpreting objects/places/events and learning to look beyond the obvious and visible into the unseen and often 'absurd' qualities of things. In this way a place can also be seen as something with its own identity, which each student can interpret in a different way. The importance of 'character' and 'personality' is emphasised throughout the design process, whether it concerns analysis, site interpretation or architectural vision. Inventiveness and imagination are cultivated through a series of design projects which tackle a range of scales and experiences and are constructed or represented through models and drawings. Augmenting the studio projects are lecture and seminar courses and a field trip to a major European city. For more information on the Year 1 course, please see here.

Year 2 & 3

2 and Year 3 students choose to join one of up to 10 design units, in which they remain for the year. Each of the units is taught by two design professionals who are part-time practitioners and academics. The vertically structured unit system provides common project briefs but also allows for a sequence of increasing scale and complexity between the start of Year 2 and the end of Year 3. Each unit declares a clear architectural position which allows students to begin to develop personal architectural interests within a strong academic framework. For more information on the range of design units, please see here.

Throughout the BSc architecture programme, architectural history and theory lecture and seminar emphasises the creative possibilities of architectural interpretation, encouraging students not only to learn what others have previously said and done in the field of architecture, but also to challenge and to critically redefine architecture, and hence to generate a theoretically-and historically informed position of their own.

Technology teaching is integrated with the process of design and the exploration of ideas and is taught as a tactile and inventive subject, where the workshop, studio and lecture space are interwoven places for its development and understanding. Over three years courses increasingly stress the interactive nature of design and the place of technical realisation in this process.

RIBA Part 1 and the Year Out

Successful completion of the BSc Architecture leads to exemption from Part 1 of the ARB/RIBA examinations. Students generally then take a Year Out in an architect's office before proceeding to a two-year Diploma programme (leading to RIBA/ARB Part 2 exemption). The Bartlett's full-time Professional Training Advisor (PTA) offers advice on careers and runs the Year Out course.

Content

Design

Throughout the three years of BSc design work is the main focus of activity. In BSc Year 1 students are taught in a year-wide group while in BSc Years 2 and 3 students are given a choice of design units, each spanning both year groups. Design projects are not seen as isolated exercises but are continually related to other concerns. In this way design is not treated as a remote skill, but as something which is integrated into other intellectual and professional activities in a holistic manner. The level of integration increases through the three years, so that the technology study and, in many cases, also the Professional Studies and the History & Theory submissions, specifically relate to design projects with each activity informing the other. In this light, the design units cover more than just a narrow focus of architectural design, and instead also reach out into all other areas of the syllabus.

Technology

The BSc technology core has three broad objectives:

To give an overview of the technical issues affecting design. This is currently a function of the lecture series in modules ENVS1060 Environmental and Technical Skills and Concepts, ENVS1004 Structures, Materials and Forming Techniques and ENVS2015 Design Technology. ENVS2015 Design Technology also introduces students to the concept that many of these issues are incorporated into government legislation.

To provide students with the technical skills that are needed to undertake design. These skills include workshop skills and computing skills as well as skills in designing with appropriate materials, structures and environmental issues. Students are also given grounding in skills related to sustainability. Students are asked to exercise these skills in relation to their design projects in all three years and to formally present their work as coursework in all modules except in Year 1 where there is the a written examination.

To ensure that students can identify key technical issues which affect their design, that students can research these issues, and that they incorporate the resulting research into a resolved design proposal. This concept is introduced in Year 2 and explored further in Year 3. Students are asked to demonstrate that they understand the iterative nature of design in the face of technical research, by incorporating elements of their final design proposal into the technical submission.

History & Theory

The cultural context of architecture is addressed through the history & theory modules which run through the three years of BSc. In Year 1, the module provides an overall view of the cultural context within which buildings and cities have been produced in the past. In Years 2 and 3, two series of lectures focus in greater attention on the architecture of the past 150 years. In addition, Year 2 students follow a seminar series explaining different kinds of architectural text, while Year 3 students join a specialist seminar group exploring a specific historical or theoretical theme in relation to architecture. In addition, the units themselves provide a strong cultural identity against which projects are set. Finally, students are exposed to a whole range of outside influences through the public lecture series, Gallery exhibitions, conferences and other non-degree related activities of the School.

Professional Studies

A feature of the BSc programme is the teaching of certain subjects with students from other disciplines with the intent of placing architecture in relation to other built environment professions. The Year 1 module Production of the Built Environment addresses the roles of the three professions (Architecture, Planning and Construction Management) further increasing this integration. The Year 3 module Preparing for Practice provides an introduction to the working environment of the architect. These modules provide an introductory understanding of the professional and commercial factors which shape the environment. Further professional input is provided through the design tutors, the majority of whom are practising architects, and who bring their immediate knowledge to the design studios.

Staff

Year 2 and 3 Design Unit Tutors

Unit 0

Pierre D'Avoine

Murray Fraser
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Unit 1

Penelope Haralambidou
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Michael Tite
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Unit 2

Damjan Iliev
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Julain Krueger
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Unit 3

David Garcia
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Jan Kattein
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Unit 4

Ana Monrabal Cook
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Luke Pearson
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Unit 5

Julia Backhaus
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Pedro Font Alba
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Unit 6

Sabine Storp

Paolo Zaide
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Unit 7

Ming Chung
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Nick Tyson
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Unit 8

Ben Addy

Rhys Cannon
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Unit 9

Max Dewdney
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Chee-Kit Lai
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Applying

Application procedures, fees, funding and scholarships

For information, please see the faculty admissions information here.

Programme-specific information follows below.

Undergraduate Architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture

The Bartlett School of Architecture is an amazing place to start your architectural education. We offer a challenging environment with an open-minded approach towards architecture. Each year we attract a huge number of highly qualified applicants from all over the world. We are looking for equally open-minded students to challenge and to push the boundaries of architecture.

Your application

This course attracts a very large number of highly qualified applicants and competition for places is stiff. We offer between 90-100 places on our BSc Architecture degree program. All applicants who apply before the 15 January deadline and are judged likely to meet our minimum entry requirements are invited to submit an assessment 'task' based on a brief that changes each year.

On the basis of this task, around 400 applicants are shortlisted for an interview day. This is an opportunity for the interviewers to learn about you and your work and for you to learn about the Bartlett School of Architecture. The day will include a general introduction, a tour of Wates House and you will have the chance to meet and talk to current students. A substantial portfolio of creative work is essential for this interview.

Portfolio

There is no single 'right' way of preparing a portfolio as it usually expresses each applicant's individual character and approach. The portfolio should contain a selection of drawings, sketchbooks, photos, etc. Finished pieces and work in progress should be included. The portfolio is a means to illustrate the individual breath of skills, interests and ability. Please show a range of different work. All work included in the task and the portfolio should be original. If they are too big a scaled reproduction is accepted.

We are very interested in any self-motivated work undertaken outside the school's art course curriculum. A recent sketchbook with work undertaken outside school should be included in the portfolio.

Please be aware that CDs/DVDs with additional work cannot be viewed during the interview or for the task.

Interview

During the course of the interview you should be able to explain the process and ideas behind your work. The interview is an informal discussion around the applicant's work. We are not testing your knowledge of architecture or architectural history.

We are interested in who you are.

We sometimes offer an interview via Skype. Please let us know if you have problems attending a personal interview at the Bartlett.

Non A-Level applicants/international applicants

Applicants who are not following an A-Level course structure will be invited to submit the 'task'.

Applicants who apply before the 15 January deadline and are judged likely to meet our minimum entry requirements are invited to submit the 'task'.

Please note that a portfolio of artwork is preferred for those applicants who are subsequently invited for an interview.

Open days

The Bartlett School of Architecture does not hold any specific open days during the academic year. Applicants are encouraged to visit our end-of-year show held every year in late June. For more information on the Summer Show, please see here.

Grocers' Company Queen's Golden Jubilee Scholarship

The Grocers' Company Queen's Golden Jubilee Scholarship is open to UK nationals entering the BSc Architecture programme at the Bartlett School of Architecture in alternate years (normally years ending with an even number). The value of the scholarship is around £2,000 per year, for the duration of the programme, subject to satisfactory academic progress. Students do not need to apply for this award - all successful applicants to the BSc Architecture are automatically considered.