Modern China presents a wealth of exciting opportunities for architecture students and researchers. Against the backdrop of the country’s fast-paced modernisation, the Department of Architecture engages with the challenges and contradictions of architecture in China in an open-minded and forward-thinking manner. Our students benefit from the experiences of our highly international academic staff, and seek answers to the questions facing both local and international architecture today.

As academics and architects we involve ourselves in real debates, challenge common perceptions and evaluate traditions. Our unique location in Suzhou allows in-depth explorations of the dynamics of urban life and designed spaces. Confronted with the city’s past and engaged in its present, our students are guided to design the future.

Architecture graduates find excellent opportunities for professional employment and for further education both locally and internationally in architecture and its related disciplines, as well as in other creative industries. Most of our graduates continue their studies on international masters programmes, either directly or after a year out in practice.

Around 20 percent of our graduates have received offers for further studies from universities ranked at the very top in the field, such as the University of Pennsylvania, the Bartlett at the University College London, the University of Sydney, the Politecnico di Milano, and the National University of Singapore. Our graduates also have been working for acclaimed international and Chinese practices such as David Chipperfield, Tong Ming Studio, Farrells, and Arup.

By the time you graduate from BEng Architecture, you will have:

• fluency in the productive use of analogue and digital design media, the Western and Chinese cultures and histories of architecture, the processes that form and transform urban space, principles of structure and construction, environmental control and architectural professional practice
• an ability to generate design proposals using understanding of a body of knowledge, some at the current boundaries of professional practice and the academic discipline of architecture
• an ability to apply a range of communication methods and media to present design proposals clearly and effectively
• an understanding of the alternative materials, processes and techniques that apply to architectural design and building construction
• an ability to evaluate evidence, arguments and assumptions in order to make and present sound judgments within a structured discourse relating to architectural culture, theory and design
• knowledge of the context of the architect and the construction industry, and the professional qualities needed for decision making in complex and unpredictable circumstances
• an ability to identify individual learning needs and understand the personal responsibility required for further professional education.

Year One

UK degrees are three years long whereas in China they are four, therefore we do accept students with certain qualifications directly into Year Two, which is the start of the main academic programme. Most students, however, enter into Year One, which provides you with a range of interesting modules, language classes and core skills for your degree.

Year Two

Year Two provides the basis for the subsequent years of the programme. You will be introduced to the history and theory of architecture, building science, structure and construction as well as building technology. Experimental studio modules introduce you to the presentation, modelling and design of architectural spaces and small buildings.

• Design studio: design thinking and articulation
• Design studio: small space design
• Design studio: small scale architectural design
• History of Western architecture
• Structure and materials
• Introduction to environmental science
• Construction and materials
• Humanities and culture.

Year Three

In Year Three, you will pursue design projects that require the integration of a more complex range of contextual parameters. You will continue to learn about building technology and the history and theory of architecture and urban developments.

• Design studio: design and building typology
• Design studio: small urban buildings
• Environmental design and sustainability
• History of Asian architecture
• Structural design
• Urban studies.

Year Four

In the final year, you will demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of architectural design processes from initial concepts to the design of buildings, taking into account human needs and desires as well as structural, material and environmental considerations.

Modules on digital design and building technology, theory, aesthetics and professional practice are designed to support the studio tasks. In Year Four, you will have the opportunity to select studio projects from a series of parallel briefs.

• Design studio: small and medium scale buildings
• Design studio: final year project
• Architectural technology
• Architectural theory
• Professional practice
• Philosophy of art and aesthetics.