Research at msa
In an age where more people live in the city than the countryside, issues of architecture and its relationship to urbanism have never been more intellectually fascinating, socially vital and environmentally urgent.
Debates about the role of architecture in an age of economic globalisation, technological futurism, environmental fatalism and deepening social division demands an approach to architectural studies that draws upon a diverse range of practices and plural forms of knowledge.
In response, Architecture at MSA is an interdisciplinary project in which competing conceptions of design and development are brought into critical dialogue. Central to this dialogue is the pursuit of research through which we aim to critically understand the co-evolution of design and development strategies and the wider social, economic and environmental processes shaping buildings, neighborhoods, public spaces and cities. Drawing upon and connecting an energetic and diverse research community stretching across social sciences in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Manchester and art and design research within the Faculty of Art and Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University, our staff posses a unique and broad range of interests and expertise across theory and design, policy and practice.
Research Locations
- PhD/MPhil courses
- Our PhD/MPhil programme is intrinsically inter-disciplinary and is open to students with an interest in any aspect of architectural research.
- MARC
- The Manchester Architectural Research Centre, with research activity in interdisciplinary fields concerning architecture and the city.
- MIRIAD’s City lab
- MIRIAD is the Art and Design Faculty’s research unit. City Lab is a cross-disciplinary group looking at design and urbanism.