Urban Design MArch focuses on innovative design-led urbanism and global urbanisation challenges. It delves into the study of cities and urban environments, examining their structure and form, and the use of material resources, as well as the multifaceted creative challenges and opportunities presented by global urbanisation and the introduction of computational tools.
The course is design-led, uniting designers and thinkers from around the globe for design-led research into the complexities of urban living and aims to bridge the gap between architecture and urbanism, emphasising physical and digital design and radical experimentation alongside rigorous analysis and contemporary theories and methodologies. Design Project modules are taught within Research Clusters , each led by distinguished tutors from academia and practice. You will be introduced to computational tools and learn to investigate design decisions both strategically and in existing urban contexts.
Through design experiments, you will explore innovative ideas for cities, addressing urgent contemporary issues such as climate change and the impact of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence. You will work collaboratively to study the social, cultural, and technological discourse surrounding urban design to develop a critical awareness of the forces shaping cities. This critical position will propel your design research and conclude in an innovative proposal.
You will gain essential skills to develop innovative design solutions attending to important issues such as climate change, rapid growth, and use of material resources. Graduates possess advanced computational techniques that enable them to analyse, visualise, simulate, design, and communicate urban issues in an effective manner.
Through a collaborative Design Thesis Project, you develop strategic skills that will enable you to define urban issues and effectively communicate them. The development of strategic and analytical skills will culminate in the production of an original urban design proposal, merging technical innovation with theoretical, cultural, and environmental concerns. These highly transferable skills will foster your ability to lead independent critical research, problem-solve complex issues, manage interdisciplinary collaborations, and effectively communicate your ideas to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Graduates from the Urban Design MArch have developed a reputation as forward thinkers in cities around the world. Recent graduate destinations have included design agencies and architectural practices, as well as further academic research.
Top industry sectors graduates have gone into have been construction, built environment and property, engineering, academic research and higher education, and performance and creative arts. Roles have included chartered architectural technologists and consultants, architects, and interior designers, and in companies such as Populous, Gensler and Associates, Foster + Partners, AECOM and Zaha Hadid Architects*.