Architecture

• RIBA Placement Programme West Midlands mentoring scheme (subject to availability).
• Ranked 10th in the UK for ‘Architecture’ in the Guardian University Guide 2021.
• Optional overseas visits and field trips Validated by the Architects’ Registration Board (ARB) providing Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA) Part 1 Level exemption.
• Expert guest lecture programme – previous speakers have included Jeremy Gould, an expert of the development of Coventry’s post war architecture .
• Extensive facilities include specialist model-making workshops and studios with 3D printing, rapid prototyping, laser cutters, CNC machines and specialist printing.
• Current teaching team have national and international architectural practice experience and expertise in concept and detailed design, master planning and programming, participation and community development.
• Access to specialist industry-standard software, for graphics, technical drawing, 3D modelling, environmental modelling.

The first year introduces you to the fundamentals of architecture including design, technology, communication and cultural context, with a look at the history and theory of architecture. We will teach you methods of hand drawing, sketching, model making and orthographic drawing as generators of creative exploration.

Through studio-based design projects, we aim to improve your understanding of the relationship of space, place, proportion and scale within the context of human needs and the physical site. You will also be given the opportunity to investigate architectural design further in relation to environmental design and human wellbeing aligned with materiality, construction and technology.

In the second year, you will have the opportunity to consider the importance of the tectonics of architecture and explore the wider holistic contextual implications of emerging contemporary urban planning. You should start to make informed choices about materials, structure and environmental design, using 3D modelling and digital drawing software as a tool for architectural exploration.

The final year consolidates the modules taught in the previous years and provides an opportunity to undertake a comprehensive design project that incorporates the core subjects of design, technology and environment and reflects your own emerging design philosophy.

You will focus on the whole design process on a brief directly related to the city of Coventry and the urban fabric. For example, past students have worked on a Council House for the city and the Centre of Peace and Reconciliation.

You will have the opportunity to exhibit in our Degree Show and New Designers in London. Students also have opportunities to exhibit work in venues in the City of Coventry, building skills and confidence in presenting work to the public.

Careers could include working as a/an:

• architect
• architectural technologist
• interior and spatial designer

A degree in Architecture can prove useful in related roles, such as a:

• building surveyor
• town planner
• commercial/residential surveyor
• teacher or lecturer
• buildings inspector
• conservation officer
• landscape architect
• planning and development surveyor
• structural engineer