Architecture Design and Build MArch

This course focuses on the role and application of materials and technology in the creation of contemporary architecture.

Overview

MArch Architecture Design and Build focuses on the relationships between design and the physical creation of space. The course will explore the nature of making and production as they relate to architectural design and practice.

The course is designed to ensure that students have the opportunity to learn about architecture by making, to understand materials through a hands-on exploration in their application, and ultimately to develop a critical response to the implications of design decisions on people and places.

A notable feature of this course is the development of design ideas at 1:1 scale and the integration with architecture students form varying backgrounds and experience levels.

This course comprises a series of design projects, skill-based workshops and research seminars, through which you may investigate technologies in an interdisciplinary manner to provide innovative solutions that are supported by appropriate technical evidence, testing and modelling.

You will spend the summer semester producing a supervised dissertation. This will be an in-depth study of an individually determined topic and is your opportunity to conduct a major piece of independent research that reflects your interests and aspirations.

By focusing on the contemporary challenges and opportunities in building design, you will develop a solid understanding of issues such as:

• the consequences of design decisions on constructed space
• the opportunities offered by understanding the relationships of designer and maker
• the benefits of learning through making architecture with scale models and full-scale prototypes

Careers

This MArch programme is project oriented – it explicitly calls for design proposals rather than purely theoretical work. The course stresses the importance of connecting design projects to the broader decision-making context of real and complex projects.

This programme has been specifically designed with the profession's needs in mind and most of the graduates from the MArch courses return to work as professionals within both the private and public sector in their own countries. Many do however continue to PhD programmes either at Nottingham or other leading universities.

The acquisition of a masters degree demonstrates a high level of knowledge in a specific field. Whether you are using it to enhance your employability, as preparation for further academic research or as a means of vocational training, you may benefit from careers advice as to how you can use your new found skills to their full potential.