UAL Architecture Course (K101)

Waiting to hear back from UCL and UAL I’ve been wondering the same, it’s Architectural studies apparently; however, I believe it is equivalent to the K100 Architecture courses of eg. Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bath, Nottingham, etc. due to being accredited by both RIBA and ARB in the same way that before, universities were defined by offering either a BA Architecture or Bsc Architecture course but now with their modules having been adapted, reviewed and re-shaped over time, the fine line has disappeared and the BA/Bsc does not define whether a certain course leans towards the more technical or artistic disposition as instead, it’s our job to assess their modules, summer exhibitions, graduate opportunities, etc. in depth. I was worried after seeing someone comment that ‘Architectural Studies is more the history and theory of Architecture whilst Architecture is the "full" side of it’, but one of the many student work projects I have seen:

https://graduateshowcase.arts.ac.uk/projects/3934/radical-temperance-finn-crawford/pages/4

has certainly made me realise this is not the case for UAL, on top of both the RIBA’s official review and the UAL course overview defining the course to have a quite societal/political/cultural take on architecture - rather than keeping to an ingrained practice, nurtures students to be innovative beyond disciplinary limits and underpins mastering all architectural roles between the arts to urban development, which is personally the perfect course structure for me, following my main dream of UCL’s reputation for setting the arty/conceptual boundary. All the best! :smile:

Reply 2

OP

What does more political mean in the architecture course? Do you think the course at UAL is not arty like UCL? Tbh I’m not big fan of the history and all the written parts of it. I wanted the course to be more artsy and studio work based rather than constant research and essay writing. Do you think UAL is not suitable for me based on the things I wished for?

Reply 3

In terms of a technical approach vs an artistic disposition from everything I’ve read I would say it definitely leans more towards the artsy/conceptual side which is the main reason for it being my second best option, and unfortunately I’m not sure exactly how heavily the course leans into history and theory, I think the best chance would be to re-read the modules in depth as well as the students’ work, and possibly to try and contact someone at UAL to see if they know someone currently studying architecture. I think that in terms of political aspects, they mainly integrate this within their teaching to encourage students to pursue innovative and alternative forms of spatial-making, quite a radical approach rather than eg. Bath by encouraging students to develop own vision and go beyond after mastering the practical approach (in a similar way that UCL is also arts based but defined with a disruptive and innovative element), but again it’s just an observation from the quite-heavy research I performed, I’m not entirely sure. I would say the modules focus on normal architecture, but allow space to delve into the other aspects like interior designing. Which other unis have you applied for?

Reply 4

OP

Original post by megp_777

In terms of a technical approach vs an artistic disposition from everything I’ve read I would say it definitely leans more towards the artsy/conceptual side which is the main reason for it being my second best option, and unfortunately I’m not sure exactly how heavily the course leans into history and theory, I think the best chance would be to re-read the modules in depth as well as the students’ work, and possibly to try and contact someone at UAL to see if they know someone currently studying architecture. I think that in terms of political aspects, they mainly integrate this within their teaching to encourage students to pursue innovative and alternative forms of spatial-making, quite a radical approach rather than eg. Bath by encouraging students to develop own vision and go beyond after mastering the practical approach (in a similar way that UCL is also arts based but defined with a disruptive and innovative element), but again it’s just an observation from the quite-heavy research I performed, I’m not entirely sure. I would say the modules focus on normal architecture, but allow space to delve into the other aspects like interior designing. Which other unis have you applied for?

I wished I was able to contact a student who is currently doing architecture at UAL but unfortunately I was only able to contact the UAL undergraduate team and they weren't able to provide useful information. I am going check out the student’s work to see what kind of things their working on.

I’ve applied to UAL, UCL, Edinburg, Cardiff and Sheffield. I’ve done my interview for UCL and still waiting to hear back from them. I was rejected by both Sheffield and Cardiff. If I don’t get in this year, I am going to do foundation art and design which will help me get inside the university therefore I applied for UAL foundation and I applied to AUB foundation. I might retake my A-levels if my a levels aren’t too great. This is because UCL doesn’t accept foundation level and my first choice has always been UCL. I am also thinking do doing my masters at UCL if I don’t get to do my bachelors degree there.

What about you? What other universities have you applied for?

Reply 5

That’s gutting I was also unable to find one to contact either, I’ll keep an eye out for you in case they mention any architecture students on their Insta/LinkedIn page. Fingers crossed for UAL, UCL and Edinburgh! The foundation diploma will definitely help in seeing how you feel about the unis, all the best with your A Levels! It’s the same with me in applying for RIBA part 2 at UCL if they don’t accept me for part 1, either that or hopefully abroad in Spain/France/NY, at the moment I have an unconditional offer from Kingston and currently still waiting on Manchester and Westminster as well as the main two, to be honest though I’m completely set on going to either UCL or UAL, no other universities I really see myself going to than the two of the most world-renowned London unis.

Reply 6

OP

Brilliant! If you find someone then please let me know as I have questions about the course. I wanted to study abroad and I thought it will be fun to explore new city and new culture but I’m not sure if studying abroad will still give me a part 2 riba and arb accreditation since different countries might have different license for architecture. Good luck with your a levels and good luck with your application!

Reply 7

Definitelyyy, and that’s true hopefully the lecturers will give us an insight into studying abroad (it was the same reason I didn’t apply for Architecture and Interdisciplinary studies even though it would have been nice to do French/French and English/French and Philosophy/French with Management Studies alongside the course), I’ve read that none of the UK unis are anywhere near as technical as the Spanish curriculum which focuses on more than 80% of engineering modules and only 20% are of design/theory base, as the architectural practice is extremely different from the UK or any other parts of world - ‘Spain do not have any building engineers hence the architects takes on the job of a full fledge engineer’, I guess we’ll see and thank you!

Reply 8

OP