School of Design and Creative Industries
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MArch Architecture

Unit 12: Storytelling to Save the Planet

Vivid symmetrical illustration of a bold graphic interior with a surfer, geometric patterns, and the text "He'e Nalu Shreds."
Omar Paddam Sanchez
Render of a colourful floating leisure complex with palm trees, a mirrored globe tower, sailboats, and hot air balloons.
Omar Paddam Sanchez
Aerial render of a chaotic elevated structure above London with red double-decker buses, scaffolding, and the Shard visible.
Aaron Oshinmi
Dense aerial render of a layered urban complex with branded signage, scaffolding, and a newspaper reading "Corridor of Freedom?"
Aaron Oshinmi
Dark atmospheric render of a spiralling tiered circular structure with a large face, birds, and dramatic lighting.
Kenechukwu Daniel Uchemefuna
A fantasy Festival Hall.
Kenechukwu Daniel Uchemefuna
Atmospheric render of a vast enclosed habitat with zebras, purple trees, light rays, and suspended spherical structures above.
Adnan Abdullahi
Dark render of a ritual interior with suspended ropes, ceremonial masks, candles, ladders, and gold objects amid smoke.
Adnan Abdullahi
Surreal illustrated garden scene with fantastical creatures, a crowned balloon, winged figures, and multilingual text below.
Melis Aysal
Surreal illustrated garden scene with fantastical creatures, a crowned balloon, winged figures, and multilingual text below.
Melis Aysal
Gold-framed triptych of three Andean cosmological realms with elaborate baroque and steampunk imagery.
Selena Garcia Gomez
Aerial render of an ornate tower rising from a circular settlement in a vast open-pit landscape.
Selena Garcia Gomez
Render of a classical colonnaded palace with a giant stone skull above the entrance, banners, and a crescent moon.
Klara Bucaliu
Render of a domed classical courtyard with fruit trees, an owl-draped figure, a peacock, and a large crescent moon.
Klara Bucaliu
Aerial render of a glowing glass structure wrapped in organic tendrils set within a dark stone roofscape.
Viktoria Kutincheva
Dark render of a mirrored room with classical statues, layered faces, a seated figure, and two red roses.
Viktoria Kutincheva
Black-and-white render of elevated patterned huts among bare trees, connected by suspended textile canopies in rain.
Simge Bagdas
Black-and-white render of a snowy settlement with bare trees, a horse, goats, and patterned textile structures.
Simge Bagdas
Dark atmospheric render of a Gothic stone interior with ivy, a circular balcony, candlelight, and a raised marble platform.
Edvinas Bergneris

unit description

We are living through a period of profound global change. Covid, social injustice, and the climate crisis have created an atmosphere that can feel overwhelming, often leading to a sense of helplessness. Yet, if we shift our perspective, this moment can be seen not only as a time of disruption, but as an opportunity to rethink how we live and reimagine the world we want to create. Architects, in particular, have the potential to act as agents of change, contributing to the transformative action needed for a more sustainable future.

As David Graeber observed, artistic and social movements share a belief that the world is something we actively make—and could remake differently. Inspired by thinkers such as Donna Haraway and Umberto Eco, Unit 12 embraces storytelling as a critical tool for exploring alternative futures. Through fiction, students can construct speculative worlds, using imagination as a means to challenge current realities and propose new possibilities.

Architectural fiction enables us to interrogate social, political, and environmental tensions while envisioning transformative futures. With an optimistic outlook, the unit encourages students to generate visionary narratives, using the utopian method as a way to consider both where we want to go and how we might get there

tutors

Rahesh Ram

with thanks to:

Laura Bowie, Jenna Le Leon, Julie Hodgon

Year 2 students

Year 1 students

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Architecture Portrait

The MArch Architecture is a two-year full-time or three-year part-time programme offering exemption from ARB/RIBA Part 2. It combines rigorous professional training with creative and speculative design exploration. In the first year, students join a themed design unit to undertake a creative building design project combined with a technical and professional report. In the second year, students pursue a comprehensive speculative architectural design project, and an in-depth theoretical thesis tailored to their personal interest. The programme fosters independent thinking, innovation, theoretical and technical excellence, preparing graduates for advanced architectural practice and ongoing professional development in a dynamic global context. See further details on our prospectus page.