BArch Hons Architecture

From day one, you won’t just be reading about architecture; you’ll be doing architecture. The course is built around design studios, model-making, site visits, group and individual projects, and real constructions. Facilities are modern, richly equipped, and include both analogue and digital tools. The staff are dedicated technical and academic experts, often bringing in guest practitioners. Throughout, there’s a strong focus on environmental sustainability, construction techniques, and collaboration.

You’ll also participate in a special “Design+Build” studio where you design and then physically build a structure (recently a preschool in rural South Africa), which gives firsthand experience in everything: context, materials, construction, project management.

Here are the key experiential components and facilities you’ll benefit from:

• Design Studios & Hot-Desking with Touch Screens
  The Environmental Education Centre offers studio spaces designed for group work, equipped with large touch screens that tie into your personal devices, pin-up space for critique, exhibitions, and lighting suited to creative design work.
• Centre for 3D Design and Fabrication Workshops
  You’ll have access to manual and digital model-making: woodworking, five-axis router machining, laser-cutting, joinery, 3D printing, vacuum forming, foam modelling, plastering, concrete casting, and brickwork. These are essential for turning your designs into real, tangible work.
• Design + Build Studio
  As mentioned, this is more than theory: you design, draw, plan, and then actually build a structure. This teaches you not only design skills but practical construction, working with materials, collaboration with industry specialists, and the ability to deliver a real project.
• Site Visits / Field Studies
  The programme includes study trips and site visits so that you see real buildings, construction in progress, and architecture in context — this helps you understand materials, environmental factors, and how theory meets practice.
• Software Tools & Digital Resources
  Although the first year starts with analogue / hand-drawing and model-making skills, you also get access to remote and on-campus PCs with official licences to architecture-relevant software. For example:
  • You’ll use the “Remote Desktop” system for accessing software via university or personal devices.
  • The course incorporates gliderBIM® training, giving you experience in Building Information Modelling and common data environments.
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• Research & Specialised Laboratories
  The “Architecture, Culture and Tectonics” research group provides access to advanced equipment: tools for designing membranes, a biaxial machine, sewing machines, pyranometers (for measuring solar transmittance), etc. These allow you to engage in research‐informed projects or deepen your understanding of material performance, environmental impact, and advanced building systems.

Assessment & Collaborative Projects
The course is structured so that you have group work and individual work. For example, in the Year 3 module “Architectural Design Studio 3A” you’ll carry out several projects: some done in groups, some individually, including preparing briefs and integrating site/context/materials. 

Graduate Outcomes & Future Opportunities

Graduates of the Nottingham BArch go into careers such as architectural design, design and build consulting, project management, or roles in property development. With the right supplemental experience (internships, professional placements), it’s also quite possible to move into leadership in sustainable design and urban planning.

Here’s how the course supports that and what you can expect:

• University services that help students employ
  • Design+Build Studio: gives hands-on, international project experience (for example building a preschool in rural South Africa) which develops technical, construction, and social design skills.
  • Workshops, studio modules, and technical teams: dedicated studio spaces and support staff help you build a strong portfolio.
  • Career services & industry exposure: guest lecturers/practitioners from prominent architecture practices contribute to studio projects
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• Employment stats & salary figures
  • About 90–91% of graduates secure graduate-level employment or further study within 15 months.
  • Average starting salary ~ £24,000 for those 15 months out.
  • A few years after graduation the median salary rises, commonly into the £28,000–£30,000+ range depending on role and responsibility.
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• University-industry partnerships
  • Graduates have gone on to work at top architecture firms, including Foster + Partners, Grimshaw, Hopkins Architects, Wilkinson Eyre, and Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners
  • Through the Design+Build Studio you’re working directly with industry specialists and real clients.
• Long-term accreditation value
  • The programme is RIBA / ARB Part I accredited. This is the recognized first stage towards professional architect status in the UK.
  • Accreditation means your degree will be respected by employers, and is essential if you aim to become a registered architect.
• Graduation outcomes
  • Many graduates continue their studies (MArch, RIBA Part II) after completing the BArch, and/or take a year of professional experience (Part I work experience) before registering.
  • Graduates are very likely to enter roles relevant to architecture or design; even when not directly in architectural practice, the skillset (design, project management, technical drawing, environmental and sustainability understanding) is in demand across creative, property, construction, and consultancy sectors.

Further Academic Progression:

After finishing BArch (Part I), the usual route is:

• Complete a year of supervised professional experience (Part I Internship)
• Then enroll in the MArch Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part II) at Nottingham or another institution.
• After Part II, gain further professional experience, and then complete Part III (final professional practice qualification) to become a fully registered architect in the UK.