Master of Architecture

• Unit 1: Situated Modes of Engagement

This unit encourages experimentation with multidisciplinary research and design approaches, developing situated methodologies to expand and challenge the conventional role of the architect. It enables you to articulate your individual working methods while situating your practice within the extended field of Spatial Practices, focusing on the entanglement between decolonisation, anti-racism, climate justice, and care, which you will test through critically‑engaged design propositions.

• Unit 2: The Collaborative Unit

This unit, nested within Unit 1, focuses on collaboration by partnering with other UAL postgraduate courses. Through cooperative work with students from diverse disciplines, you will directly experience the value of cross‑disciplinary thinking and problem‑solving central to the course.

• Unit 3: Regenerative Construction

In this unit, you will explore technical making and construction in detail, applying regenerative design principles and methods to achieve zero‑carbon standards. It embeds climate literacy and innovation through a constructional prototyping project that involves research, testing, collaborative teamwork, and implementation, with careful attention to life safety and material systems.

• Unit 4: Professional Spatial Practice (Industry Placement)

In this unit, you will define the direction for your major project through an industry placement that extends your community of practice to external stakeholders. Working with an advisor and a selected organisation, you will gain insights into contemporary spatial practice, assess its ethical implications, and use a contextual study to establish the research agenda and brief for your self‑directed major design project.

• Unit 5: Design for Planetary Care

In this unit, you will develop a self‑led major project culminating in a design proposition centred on planetary care, synthesising your contextual studies thesis and industry placement into a clear brief. The technology component builds on Unit 3, integrating climate innovation through material and technology workshops, while the contextual studies strand concludes with a public, student‑led event where you declare your intent and situate your work within a broader discourse.

• Unit 6: Situated Architectural Practice

Unit 6 is the culmination of the course, involving the refinement and public dissemination of your major design project at the Showcase. It concludes with a speculation on future career pathways, asking you to propose new forms of architectural practice rooted in the professional networks built over the course, while addressing practical barriers like planning, building control, and contracts to prepare you for professional life beyond Central Saint Martins.

• The working week

Central Saint Martins' Spatial Practices programme offers a vibrant art school environment where teaching is designed to foster curiosity and experimentation. You will move fluidly between one‑to‑one tutorials, small group work, cohort‑wide sessions, peer reviews, site work with stakeholders, and hands‑on workshops, with an expected commitment of 30 hours per week.