Master of Architecture Part II (MArch) – Lincoln School of Architecture and the Built Environment

July 9, 2019February 20, 2021

Mark Hutchings finalist for the 3DReid student prize

The 3DReid shortlist for the student prize was announced yesterday and Mark Hutchings, year 5, was announced as one of the 6 finalists.

His Voronoi Tower, a facility for extreme sports located on the Greenwich Peninsula, proposes a series of physical, mental and skill-based challenges for adrenaline junkies. The extreme sports experience unfolds vertically through extreme environments which take participants through arid deserts, tropical rainforests and frozen wastelands.

The shortlisted boards are on the 3DReid website.

The final takes place on the 18th of July. We wish Mark the very best of luck!

June 9, 2019March 19, 2021

MArch end of year exhibition

The end of year show had its preview on 7 June when our final year students, from both the MArch and BArch programmes, were joined in celebrating their work by their families and friends.

The presentation on the opening night was an emotional one, as some of our colleagues are leaving the school after many years of contributing to its success. Barbara Griffin, the BArch programme leader and tutor in the MArch, will move on to pursue her numerous interests, as will Manish Mandhar who has been leading the BA(Hons) provision in Hong Kong.

The MArch end of year exhibition will stay open until the 21st of June 2019.

May 17, 2019March 19, 2021

Festival of Creativity UoL

MArch students exhibit their final year work in the 2019 Festival of Creativity

April 12, 2019March 19, 2021

Concrete talk

Allan Haines was invited to talk to 4th year students about the potential of building with concrete, as research and new developments in its production are aiming to reduce the carbon footprint. The presentation described a variety of case studies in which the tectonic, textural appearance of concrete was exploited for its qualities, either for entirely defining a space or for providing the background for more colourful, dynamic or expressive design elements. Allan also mentioned new approaches when dealing with new and old constructions which employ concrete.

Some examples, such as the Abedian School of Architecture by Crab Studio, describe the effortless structural and plastic qualities of concrete when employed in a creative way (above).

Allan spent the rest of the day with the students in studio, advising them on structural and environmental strategies for their design projects.

March 29, 2019July 9, 2019

RIBA CPD in Lincoln: community engagement

Sophia de Sousa, chief executive of The Glass House, gave an engaging talk about collaborative design techniques used in community engagement projects, as part of the RIBA core CPD seminar series. MArch and BArch students attended alongside local architects and will be using some of the ideas gathered during the session, run as a workshop, as well as from the diverse case studies presented during the talk.

March 22, 2019February 20, 2021

Alumni visit

This week two of our alumni visited the school to give a talk to 3rd year BArch students and also to help with 5th year studio reviews.

Tom Butler-Weeks and Liam Swaby, two of our best MArch students, have been active supporters of the school since they graduated in 2017. Their talk was about their experience in Lincoln, outlining their own research and design journeys in years 4 and 5. They encouraged students to develop personal interests which may become a basis for further research and establish the foundations for studio projects – a creative freedom the MArch in Lincoln allows. They also pointed out that it is necessary to build extracurricular interests into student life, even during most pressured moments.

This is the second year of Tom and Liam’s involvement with the school. Students find their feedback in crits to be most helpful, because their practical advice is sensitive to each development stage of design.

We are fortunate and thankful to have such enthusiastic, knowledgeable and dedicated graduates, whose contribution is appreciated by all.

photographs: Fraser Swindell & Doina Carter

March 15, 2019March 19, 2021

Research INDABA 3

Academics and an MArch student presented their current work at our school’s research INDABA (INDABA = gathering in Zulu) on Wednesday 13 March. Our INDABA was set up three years ago, initiated by Prof Glen Mills, head of school. As usual, the presentations this year were diverse: from [earthquakes, politics and reconstruction] in New Zealand to the effects of the built environment on pupil engagement and attainment.

Trevor Elvin talked about the GroundLab in Lincoln’s Sincil Bank which, since opening a few weeks ago, apart from being a satellite studio for 3rd and 5th year students, has become a catalyst for community engagement, attracting a lot of local interest and governmental financial support (image above).

Some topics covered aspects of work developed within the MArch, such as the ‘Question of life and architecture’ posed by the design and construction of the Orgone Accumulator presented by Marcin Kolakowski and Doina Carter.

One of the talks was given by Lewis Wake, 5th year MArch student, on his dissertation subject of STUDENT BURNOUT, which affects a lot of architecture students especially before important deadlines.

As in previous years, the event prompted interesting debates, some of which will continue long after the doors have closed on our third INDABA.

March 8, 2019March 19, 2021

Swan in

Over the last week, beautifully made origami swans surreptitiously invaded the MArch exhibition space on the 3rd floor. At first there was one and then a few, colourful, multiplying every day, getting bigger and bigger, in the beginning sitting on the table, in various formations, radial or spiral cavalcades led usually by the smallest one.

Eventually three took the initiative to move onto our models.

The rest are just accumulating orgone…

swans fabrication and mise en scene: Samantha Neal, 1st year BArch (Hons)

photographs: Doina Carter

January 30, 2019March 19, 2021

Site visit: student accommodation

Year 5 students visited the building site between the Sarah Swift building and the railway line. This gave them the opportunity to observe typical construction details of a steel structural system with pre-cast concrete stairs, commonly used in multi-storey buildings and in student projects.

January 5, 2019March 19, 2021

GROUNDLAB of Sincil Bank Lincoln

The Mayor of Lincoln Councillor Keith Weaver officially opened GROUNDLAB, a new community hub housed in an unmissable, bright orange, shipping container placed in Sincil Bank, Lincoln.

GROUNDLAB is an exciting new creative design studio, developed for the Sincil Bank community by the University of Lincoln in collaboration with the city of Lincoln Council. MArch and BArch studio groups have their studio sessions in the cosy container, which will act as a community drop-in design hub for residents. Academics will work with the local community and other stakeholders on a range of projects, to provide opportunities for residents to engage in creative activities, exchanges ideas and work towards the improvement of the public realm in Sincil Bank.

Trevor Elvin is the academic leading the project, which is already attracting a lot of interest and support. The activity of the GROUNDLAB can be followed on the hub’s website:

https://www.groundlab.co.uk/