MPhil in Architecture - Architectural Science

Cardiff University

The School of Architecture has an international and national reputation for research, with strengths in architectural science, history and theory of architecture and architectural practice. The Welsh School of Architecture has an international reputation for research excellence, spanning architectural science, computational design, architectural history and theory, heritage and conservation, urbanism and urban design, and design research. We provide a stimulating environment for postgraduate researchers to investigate the built environment in its broadest sense - across scales and cultures, through varied modes of production and technologies, through diverse lived experiences, and in terms of histories and ideas that continue to shape architecture and cities worldwide. As a doctoral researcher at the School, you will work within a supportive and inclusive academic community, benefit from expert supervision, and engage in an active culture of interdisciplinary research, critical inquiry and debate. The school’s diverse research expertise is clustered into research and scholarship groups that provide a focus for exploring overlapping interests and expertise and facilitate collaboration. Research areas that doctoral students undertake are in turn related to these groups. Postgraduate research students join one but can survey more than one of the research groups, where they benefit from being part of a community of expertise and learning, seminars, discussions and other events that support their studies. Computational Methods in Architecture Enhancing architectural design, analysis, and production through machine learning, computational optimisation, building simulation, script and code development and advanced digital methods. Topics include algorithmic learning, deep learning, generative design and digital fabrication. Energy, Environment and People Developing evidence-based solutions to critical issues of energy and sustainability within the built environment. Topics include indoor environmental quality (including air quality), net zero, embodied and lifecycle carbon, circular economy and relationships between technology and human behaviour. History, Heritage and Conservation Tackling crucial issues relating to our historic environment, both in theory and practice, including sustainability, the climate crisis, decolonisation, and equality, diversity and inclusivity. Urbanism Exploring the role of people and other actors in the shaping of urban places and public spaces. Design Research and Professional Practice Enhancing the global understanding of the role and value of design to shape the built environment in sustainable ways.

Welsh School of Architecture