News

Brighton architecture: Building on excellent foundations

Published 16 July 2012

The university’s Faculty of Arts has secured a further five-year validation from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for its undergraduate and postgraduate architecture courses.

One of our architecture students

The architectural courses at Brighton were first validated by RIBA in 1949 and are now in their 63rd year of validation. Since the courses became part of the Faculty of Arts in 1999, they have produced over 1000 graduates who have gone on to work in professional practices around the globe.

RIBA validation is a peer review process that ensures that architectural teaching meets internationally-recognised standards and promotes professional practice and innovation as part of the student experience.

Architecture at the university attracts high-calibre UK and international applicants. Students engage with live briefs and tackle issues including sustainability and social inclusion. Recent graduates explored the use of coppiced materials, which are not currently used for architectural purposes, through the construction of a garden pavilion, as part of RIBA South East’s ‘Love Architecture’ festival. Students are encouraged to enter competitions such as the ‘Future Vision Award’, won in December 2011 by Architecture RIBA Part 2 MArch student Jack Champ.

Current staff members include Duncan Baker Brown, who developed the concept behind the recent Channel 4 show ‘The House That Kevin Built’, and Andre Viljoen, whose work on urban agriculture has helped the Olympic Park Legacy Company with ways in which this idea can be integrated into architectural designs for the 2012 Games.

For more information on any of the University of Brighton’s architecture courses email architectureanddesign@brighton.ac.uk

Open days for undergraduate 2013 entry will take place on 20 October 2012. Full details can be found at http://arts.brighton.ac.uk