The Master of Architecture (MArch) programme at the Liverpool School of Architecture is a design-intensive and research-driven course. Our students are exposed to complex urban contexts, first learning from cities abroad and then bringing back the knowledge and applying it to regional and local projects; environmental and tectonic thinking are fully integrated in the design process and very often become drivers for design concepts; projects develop from the scale of the city to the design of complex buildings to their finest technical resolution; and students are supervised by the school’s research centres, learning from their methodological approaches and developing their own lines of enquiry. Our goal is to prepare our graduates for a wide range of professional paths, from practicing architecture in the UK and abroad, to continuing their development via post-professional courses, to becoming researchers in architecture and its related fields.
SCAFFOLDINGS
Our M.Arch degree show is called SCAFFOLDINGS, referencing a temporary structure in anticipation of the new extension and chapter for the Liverpool School of Architecture. Scaffolding is used in this context as a metaphor, a physical presence and an operation. The bamboo scaffolding quotes the iconic element of the Hong Kong cityscape inspiring us by during our workshop there in January 2025. These bamboo structures portray a city in motion that is perpetually and retroactively reproducing itself. Hong Kong scaffoldings contain both the building and its construction. They are highly crafted, seeking perfection through imperfection. This standardised system allows for trial and error. Scaffoldings represent the opposite of what AI and risk averse bodies foreshadow: an architectural production which focuses on the perfect end results not the process by avoiding failure at all cost.
The MArch5 Degree show features 14 projects tutored by: Katerina Antonopoulou of URBAN FORM AND SOCIAL SPACE, Soumyen Bandyopadhyay of ARCHIAM, Marco Iuliano of STUDIUM URBIS, Johanna Muszbek of HOUSELAB, Junjie Xi & Francisco Mejias Villatoro of COMMUNITY DESIGN, and Joy Burgess of ECOLOGICAL NARRATIVES. The projects are organised into four cross cutting themes: Detoxifying Territories, New Settlers, Civic Artefacts, and Architecture of Justice. In search of the agency of architectural design, these kaleidoscopic themes highlight in various configurations the role of LAND (Where to build?); PEOPLE (Who to build for?);ARTEFACTS( What society needs?); and LAW (How should we govern our built environment?).
MARCH5 THESIS DESIGN
Thesis design is the final, concluding stage of the year dedicated to research-by-design processes.
Thesis design highlights the reciprocity between research and design: Research being only as relevant as the design solutions they inspire; and vice-versa, the value of design is signified by its cultural contribution.
Thesis design provides an opportunity for students to explore their own architectural agenda while they reflect on, and challenge disciplinary boundaries.
Thesis design aims to identify the role of architecture in the moment of political, social, environmental and economic inflection point.
