Architecture and Historic Urban Environments MA

We are living in a time of planetary crisis. Historically, the built environment has been a major contributor to this problem, but in the future, in a world that has already largely been constructed, it must be the site of profound solutions. This programme strives to achieve an urgent and radical transformation, asking students to critically engage with the past to build a better future by reinterpreting, rejuvenating, recreating and rethinking urban environments at all scales.

Using London as an outstanding laboratory for learning, students are encouraged to interrogate the past through a rigorous analysis of the present, identifying and addressing historical inequities – environmentally, racially, spatially, and socially – ingrained in the urban fabric and common to all cities.

Supported by an outstanding team of award-winning tutors comprising internationally renowned designers, historians and researchers, students learn innovative urban strategies and engage with key issues concerning urban and cultural heritage alongside the theory and practice of urban surveying, recording, mapping and analysis. Throughout the programme, students are encouraged to develop their own creative practice and critical voice, which are expressed fully in the production of a Final Project that responds to and reflects the programme’s aims of building equitable futures from inequitable pasts.