Architecture and Design
Where ideas are shaped
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Where ideas are shaped
ACE End of Year Showcase 2024
Highlights of student work from across the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering
Our courses
We offer a broad range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Architecture and Design.
BSc (Hons) Architecture (ARB/RIBA) Part 1
Earn your architecture degree and develop the skills needed to design innovative buildings and spaces. Explore courses, requirements and career opportunities at UEL.
BSc (Hons) Architectural Design Technology (Accredited by CIAT)
Architectural Design Technology is an interdisciplinary course that blends architecture with building engineering, building technology and construction management.
BA (Hons) Interior Architecture
Approach design challenges towards future cities with innovation, resourcefulness and responsibility. We prepare you for conceptualising and creatively tackling a range of design challenges.
Our BA (Hons) Interior Design degree allows you to study design in all its forms - architectural, commercial and retail, residential, furniture, set and exhibition designs.
Explore the BA (Hons) Product Design degree at the University of East London. Develop innovative product design solutions with hands-on experience in cutting-edge facilities.
MArch Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 2)
Our MArch Architecture course is fully accredited, furthering your progress towards becoming a qualified architect.
Concept generation; context analysis; programmatic control; performance assessment; a holistic approach to digital architecture and urban design.
The aim of this interior design Master's programme is to engage you in creative and experimental processes and to enhance your ability to grasp complex design ideas.
At UEL we help extend your skills and subject knowledge to landscape professional standards, through tailored teaching, whatever your starting point.
MA Professional Landscape Architecture
A design-based career conversion course at Masters level, for anyone who has a passion for landscape architecture, but a degree in another subject.
MA Professional Landscape Architecture with Conversion
This is a design based career conversion / development course at Masters level, for anyone who has a passion for landscape architecture, but a first degree in any other subject.
Be The Change - Korell
‘I could feel a connection with the university, and I could feel a connection with the professor which gave me a feeling of someone believing in me.’ Our Architecture course allows students to develop their creativity and critical judgement skills to create a high-quality portfolio that shows your practical, academic, and professional skills.
Whatever career path you decide is for you, join us today and Be The Change.
Upcycling sugarcane by-products
Sugarcrete was created by mixing the sugarcane fibres left over after sugar sap extraction, known as bagasse, with bespoke sand-mineral binders is a material which has the potential to be used and re-used in new or existing structures, replacing both brick and concrete.
Developed over the last two years, testing of the material by UEL showed that using Sugarcrete, when compared to concrete production, reduces curing time, is four to five times lighter than concrete block, only uses up to 20% of its carbon footprint and provides substantially reduced costs.
Architecture and Design is contextual
Our architecture and design staff teach at the highest level and maintain an enquiring research approach to physical and intellectual contexts. They are leaders in their field and have gone on to win numerous awards, so you can rest assured you’ll gain the knowledge, skills and experience from some the finest of experts in the architecture industry.
We embrace real situations with passion and creativity. We believe that a depth of enquiry and poetic experimentation develops from the experience and understanding of making, drawing and materials in well-crafted output. We believe that Architecture and Design are thought, experienced and built.
We provide a forum for ideas and thought across a wide range of disciplines, and host a national and international lecture series which acts as a magnet for theorists and practitioners to contribute to the discussion and debate in the school.
Our architecture and design programmes challenge assumptions and set new agendas for design in the 21st century.
All our studios and making facilities are highly commended by RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects).
Download our yearbook to view examples of our architecture students' work.
About us
Our Architecture and Design subject area (A+D) is an award-winning department that celebrates diverse cultural backgrounds in who we are and how students learn, training them to be the creative change makers of the industry. We are a majority-minority school where 68% are 1st family members who come to university and 75% of students come from diverse backgrounds.
We foster a broad and inspiring architectural education to establish a rich foundation for a creative professional life. We are a career-led school of architecture and visual art and ensure you are job-ready upon graduating. We are proud to have 95% student satisfaction, and 85% of our students go on to work and /or study within 15 months after the course (Discover Uni).
We balance the development and support of our students' talents with the understanding that architecture and design are contextual, socially constructed and political. We believe that the design conversation in studios between students and staff across models and drawings is central to creative development.
Our architecture students are encouraged to undertake study trips internationally in each year of study to deepen their understanding of people and places. Our teaching balances respect and understanding of the past and the present with an inspirational, poetic and innovative stance towards the future.
Why choose UEL for an Architecture and Design degree?
We nurture and care about our students. We go the extra mile, and it shows.
Our architecture courses are ranked 2nd in London for Student Satisfaction in the Complete University Guide, 2025. Our Architecture courses are also ranked 2nd in London overall, including 2nd in London for “Career Prospects” in the Guardian University Guide 2025. Our Architecture courses are ranked 2nd in London for “Teaching Quality” and “Student Experience” in the Times Good University Guide 2025.
Our architecture courses are ranked 2nd in London in 5 categories including “Learning Resources” and “Student Voice”, and 98% of students surveyed on our Architecture Courses responded positively to questions on “The Teaching on my Course”, National Student Survey, 2024.
Our architecture and design academics and students have been shortlisted or gone on to win numerous awards.
- Winner of the 2023 MacEwen Award for Architecture for the Common Good, with the Royal Institute of British Architects Journal (RIBAJ) for rejuvenating the Jubilee Pool in Penzance. Alex Scott-Whitby, leader of the architecture and physical design cluster and his architectural practice, Scott Whitby Studio, upgraded the art deco swimming pool in Penzance with a geothermal borehole, which provides a natural and low-carbon method of heating the water.
Architect awarded for Penzance pool project - Winner Dezeen Awards 2022: Rebirth project of the year: Jubilee Pool by Scott Whitby Studio
Architect wins prestigious Dezeen award - Winner of an international competition with Airbnb: Pol Gallagher, lecturer in interior design and architecture scooped the $100,000 OMG! Fund from Airbnb to design a pod in his home county of Donegal, Ireland.
Architectural design expert wins Airbnb prize - 5 out of 11 RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) London prizes were given to UEL students in 2021.
- 4 of our 3rd-year architecture students were shortlisted for an international competition for a Rammed Earth Pavilion. Find out more about the competition.
We enjoy unconditional recognition from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB), giving exemption from Part 1 of their professional examinations.
Our BSc (Hons) Architecture and MArch Architecture enjoy unconditional recognition from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB), giving exemption from Part 1 and Part 2 of their professional examinations.
Our BSc (Hons) Architectural Design Technology is also accredited by the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) allowing you to be an Associate Member upon graduation and progressing to full chartered membership.
Our MA Professional Landscape Architecture course is also accredited by the Landscape Institute.
You'll study in one of the biggest regeneration areas in Europe, and we are located not far from the global centre of the architecture and design industry – Farringdon. Perfect for placements and field trips to see how architects are applying theory to practice.
UEL has an international reputation in architecture, reflected in a series of awards and achievements, both by architecture students and staff.
At the core of our teaching philosophy is the relationship developed between staff and students and the play of the design process.
You will be taught in small groups, one-to-one, in studios, in workshops, and lecture halls and now online. Our project work follows a systematic pattern of investigation, experiment and innovation.
Our architecture courses will set you on the path to becoming an architect, architectural technologist, interior designer, or landscape architect. Depending on your pathway, you can gain exemption from parts 1 and 2 of the ARB/RIBA professional examinations and the Landscape Institute.
You'll learn in small classes with practising architects and designers in workshops and studios, and you'll use professional quality equipment and facilities. You'll also gain lots of hands-on experience working on real-life design projects.
We have dedicated workshops and laboratory facilities for architecture and visual arts housed in the AVA building as well as in the new, digital fabrication DFUEL lab at our Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability building on the Docklands Campus. These provide an ideal environment for architecture students to experience design processes and master practical skills.
Our facilities include:
- Woodwork workshop
- Metal welding workshop
- Plaster, mould-making and ceramics workshop
- Analogue
- Darkroom for photography
- Risograph printing
- Digital Fabrication (DFUEL) facilities include a robotic arm, 3D scanners, 3D printers, laser cutters, clay printers, and many other digital fabrication technologies.
- High-spec computer labs equipped with the latest architecture software and programmes
To find out more and experience our facilities first-hand, visit us at an Open Day.
What we're researching
Our architectural research is driven by the needs of, and directly assists, groups ranging from local communities up to and including international and inter-governmental agencies such as the United Nations through the work of our staff, often our students, our alumni practices and our collaborations with the UEL Sustainability Research Institute.
We are in the heart of urban regeneration activity in East London, our location provides a very contested, socially diverse context that inspires much of our research focus. It acts as a catalyst for convening multidisciplinary research around the critical question of how change impacts community and environment, and how the benefits of that change can be focused and harnessed.
From this catalyst, a multidisciplinary research team has evolved that reaches beyond the boundaries of the university campus to co-produce locally contextualised and, most importantly, solutions-based research within multiple knowledge exchange and innovation partnerships with industry, government, universities and the public.
Whilst shaped by our locality, research outputs resonate globally across the 21st Century's industrialised city and managed landscapes. This includes international collaboration at the EU and UN levels, ranging from major inter-governmental bodies to regional and city councils to small local community groups.
Our work is guided by the principles of "sustain, retain, restore, re-use and transform" which are applied, either explicitly or implicitly, across every aspect of our work. As impact drives our research. We operate on the basis that traditional boundaries are wholly transparent because genuine action on sustainability requires the integration of social, environmental and resource-based actions in defining the environment, place and living space, as well as maximising social return on research investment - all within the context of a climate emergency.
The strength of our research comes from partnerships across disciplines both within UEL (environmental science, materials science, architecture, landscape, social science, engineering, fine and performing arts) and beyond. Our transdisciplinary approach to solutions-based research has been central to the success of this research collaboration.
We operate a non-hierarchical, collaborative structure that values all contributors equally, bringing opportunities for our postgraduate students and increasingly our undergraduates to support and benefit from research development, acknowledging that our near-future society will be creating participatory relationships rather than exclusive knowledge.
Career
RIBA Student Mentoring Scheme
Each academic year, we work collaboratively with the RIBA to offer the Student Mentoring Scheme to undergraduate RIBA student members during the autumn and spring each academic year. The mentoring scheme is intended to give architecture students an insight into practice and to enhance their learning experience.
RIBA student members taking part in the scheme are matched with mentors and meet at an informal event at their School during the autumn. During that meeting, mentors and their mentees arrange to hold at least two meetings of at least two hours before the end of February the following year. These meetings cover an introduction to working life at the practice; a successful project; and follow-through of a current live project.
Employability Events
The architectural profession and most teaching environments are generally still not inclusive and there is a lack of visible everyday role models from all diverse backgrounds and circumstances. Throughout each academic year, we invite professionals - chosen not only for their outstanding achievements but also to reflect the diversity represented by our students - to talk about their education, careers and the ups and downs of professional life in architecture. The brief presentations are followed by thought-provoking discussions and questions and answers with the students.
The diversity also extends into various design-related occupations and showcases the multitude of career paths possible post-graduation. Many of the guests are involved in initiatives to advance the urgently needed diversity in the design profession and are mentoring or otherwise supporting students/young professionals from underrepresented backgrounds.
Careers at UEL
Our dedicated Careers team works closely with employers to provide up-to-date information about the skills and experience they're looking for. They will support you during your studies and after you graduate in architecture.
At UEL, you'll have access to:
- Employability skills training such as interview techniques and CV writing.
- Career Assessment, giving you the opportunity to learn about yourself and Career Coach will help you to discover career suggestions based on your interests.
- UEL Skills Academy, where external professionals deliver sessions on the competencies most prized by graduate employers.
- Internships, placements and volunteering opportunities from our work placements team.
- Professional mentoring scheme, matching students with staff from major companies.
- Networking opportunities and annual careers fair.
- Support with setting up your own business.
Career coach
Use our online Career Coach to find out the different career paths your chosen subject area can lead you to. Get information on specific careers, job roles, potential wages and available jobs in the sector. Or take a quick quiz to find a career to match your personality type!
Our location
Our location in one of Europe's largest regeneration areas and our extensive links to local employers will also give you access to fantastic architectural internships and placements. From heavy industry to high-tech, health and social care to the arts, there are so many opportunities right on our doorstep.
Our staff
Find out more about our staff by visiting our School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering (ACE) page.
Sustainability is such a hot topic in architecture, I think it's essential for us to reconsider our ideas and knowledge, not just in the case of creating new things, it's also about repurposing all the stuff that we already have done to this world."
Stephano
MA Architecture and Urbanism
News
Read what we have been up to...
Architecture school has ‘real magic’, says journal
Prestigious professional journal visits graduates' show and praises commitment to sustainability, inclusivity and social justice
Read the full article
Earthshot Prize nomination for UEL project
A sustainable, ultra-low carbon construction alternative to concrete is nominated for the prestigious Earthshot Prize 2023.
Read more
Prestigious Times Higher Education Award for UEL research
The University of East London is celebrating a landmark win this week at the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2024 with the Sugarcrete® project.
See full storyBe the Change - Ishya Thompson - Interior Design
Ishya studies Interior Design at University of East London, and decided to #bethechange by returning to education during the global pandemic to help people make more of their space.
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Our Schools
Academic staff and teaching at UEL is divided into five Schools.
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