Call for applications 2023: MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design at Architectural Association School of Architecture

Projective Cities is an important platform for discussing governance and development issues in the context of global urbanization difficulties. Its goal is to rethink the agency of spatial design and development within specific political, economic, social, and cultural settings in order to adapt to present urban, environmental, and social challenges.

Each Projective Cities cohort investigates a common issue as the beginning point for individual research goals. The Architecture of Collective Living is the current theme. The goal is to compare and contrast the various organizational, formal, thematic, and material characteristics that define the Architecture of Collective Living in a series of ancient and current case studies.

Through a framework of rigorous design and research approaches, Projective Cities prepares its applicants for autonomous research. In the first year of the program, students learn about research methodologies, academic writing, architectural and urban histories and theories, advanced analytical approaches, and computational design in preparation for a significant dissertation project. Students submit a research proposal at the end of the first year. In the second year, this is developed, culminating in an integrated design and written dissertation.

Projective Cities wants candidates who are eager to conduct significant and novel research. It is looking for extraordinary thinkers, gifted designers, and critical journalists who care about the future of our cities.

Students presented and are creating dissertations in London, Harbin, Rural Spain, Coastal Italy, Quebec, Beijing, Iran, Tao Bao Villages, and Rural India this year. Thesis studies looked into a variety of sites and issues, with a special emphasis on community-led initiatives and programs, as well as cooperative housing solutions. The programme continued working with stakeholders, municipal agencies, and local universities in Athens and Barcelona, ending a three-year research cycle on ‘Forms of Collective Living’.

This academic year, the program resumed its relationship with the University of Cyprus’s Department of Architecture, collaborating on a research and design project for the Municipality of Kessariani in Athens. The projects, which focus on the construction of collective equipment, new housing typologies, and landscape interventions, were presented in Kessariani City Hall in November 2022, together with significant archive documentation. The exhibition, created in partnership with Kostas Avramidis, Olga Balaoura, and Post-Spectacular Office, will run until January 2023, with a publication and one-day conference following in December 2022.