Thanks to its fast-paced modernisation, China is an urban and architectural laboratory, and the Department of Architecture is at the forefront of the country’s exciting design revolution. Our students engage with the challenges and contradictions of architecture in China in a courageous and forward-thinking manner, while our department is well-positioned to critically examine the important issues facing architecture today.
Innovation and development come from critical observation, discourse and constructive debate. As academics and architects, we involve ourselves in real debates, challenge common perceptions and question traditions. Our students use our unique location in Suzhou to explore the dynamics of urbanity and investigate city formation in order to understand the past, to engage in the present and to speculate about the future as we aim to influence the course of architecture and design in China and the world.
Our academic staff have a highly diverse range of teaching and research experience as well as international cultural, educational and professional backgrounds. Additionally, the department maintains close ties with its partner department, the School of Architecture at the University of Liverpool, with staff on both sides engaged in regular exchanges.
The facilities of the department include ample studio space and computer labs, while workshop facilities available include woodworking, model-making, laser cutting, 2D and 3D printing, photography and CNC production, a building materials library, as well as an arts and model-making supplies shop on campus.
RETHINKING ARCHITECTURE
China’s complexity means that critical thinking and creative engagement aren’t just buzzwords at XJTLU: they have real meaning. In Architecture we foster debate, challenge perceptions and ask provocative questions in order to develop architectural solutions for contemporary problems.
With China as our architectural workshop, we investigate new styles, study unexplored urban dynamics and examine city formation. We use the local context as a driver to make the theoretical real, pushing us well beyond the limits of the studio.
RIBA VALIDATION
We have achieved part 1 validation from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for our undergraduate programme and we have started the process of gaining international validation at RIBA part 2 level for our masters programme. We are also seeking professional accreditation from the Ministry of Construction in China and the programme is already registered with and recognised by the Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE).
STUDIO IS CENTRAL
Our design studio is central to our teaching practices, which encourage critical enquiry in the form of analysis, reflection and speculation. Learning-by-doing and learning-by-thinking lie at the core of our curriculum with 50 percent of teaching and learning time devoted to architectural studios. Studio teaching is provided in small groups of 10 to 12 students per tutor on the basis of structured briefs. Through individual projects, you are led through the learning experience, which spans from media exploration and space creation in the earlier stages of your studies, to complex architectural expression and proposition at the end of your degree.
KEY EDUCATIONAL FEATURES OF ARCHITECTURE INCLUDE:
• Human-centred development of the built environment
• A culture of intellectual exploration and innovative speculation
• Cross-cultural education that fosters creative, critical, sophisticated and responsible thought
• Creating desirable places to live, work and enjoy
VISIT THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE’S INDEPENDENT ONLINE ARCHITECTURAL MAGAZINE, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN CHINA AT www.masterplanningthefuture.org
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