Welcome to the Welsh School of Architecture end of year student exhibition and congratulations to all BSc Part I students for all your hard work in both your studies and transition back from remote working to our refurbished Bute building.

At the WSA, our BSc Part I course is structured to provide a comprehensive, progressive and immersive engagement with the broad subjects of architectural education – design, technology, history and theory, practice, ethics, and entrepreneurship. The three years are structured to provide a foundational introduction, application and integration and synthesis within specific design and global challenges to develop grounded designers who are: environmentally engaged; theoretically, culturally and politically aware; enterprising and highly valued by practice.

As such, process is a critical part of the student experience, developing ways of acquiring skills and nurturing a personal sense of what it means to be within architectural, industry and global contexts. This process at WSA is essentially focused around the studio – a place for creative exploration and experimentation; a socially vibrant and engaging environment; and a community of practice with diverse experiences and engagements with peers, tutors, and consultants. Through studio, students excel in the developmental and exploratory process of research, drawing, making, and modelling to develop ideas, strategies, details, and positions. This is particularly evident in the broad diversity of the Year 3 design units that equip and empower students to reflect, question, and tackle real situations as a process, not just an output.

As architectural education continues to evolve, we embrace creative responses to international opportunities, the climate emergency, the refurbished Bute building studios, workshops and flexible learning spaces that will provide new opportunities to engage, collaborate and explore new ethical design approaches that encourage an integrated approach to learning.

Dr Steve Coombs, Director of Undergraduate Teaching