Master of Architecture (Design)

The Master of Architecture (Design) [MArch (Design)] is a three-year full-time programme offered by the Department of Architecture.  Built on the existing two-year UGC-funded MArch curriculum, the three-year MArch (Design) offers a path for qualified students from undergraduate programmes outside of architecture to pursue an architectural education. The MArch (Design) operates on a self-funding model.

MArch (Design) is Professionally Accredited by:

• Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA)
• Architects Registration Board, HKSAR (ARB)

Recognized by:

• Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA)
• New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB)
• The Canberra Accord as having substantial equivalency with the accreditation or validation systems in the architectural education of:

1. Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB)
2. China National Board of Architectural Accreditation (NBAA)
3. Chinese Taipei Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET)
4. Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA)
5. Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE)
6. Korea Architectural Accrediting Board (KAAB)
7. Mexico Acreditadora Nacional de Programas de Arquitectura y Disciplinas del Espacio Habitable (ANPADEH)
8. South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP)
9. United States of America National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)

Through a multidisciplinary curriculum emphasising current design and production technologies
alongside an understanding of the historical and theoretical culture of architecture, the programme
enables students to acquire broad expertise, skills and knowledge to confront the complexities of
contemporary architectural discourse, design and practice.

Core Courses:

• Advanced Structural Systems
• Architecture and Its Discourses
• Core Design Courses (i.e. Design 9-14)
• Design and Construction Communication
• Design and Technology of Sustainable Buildings
• Digital Media and Methods
• History of Modern Architecture
• Introduction to Building Structures
• Pre-thesis Seminar
• Principles of Building
• Professional Practice I & II

Elective Courses:
MArch(Design) students may choose elective courses from the below categories. These courses can also
be taken in the optional summer semester during the first and second years:

Categories:
I. History and Theory
II. Urbanisation and Habitation
III. Technology and Sustainability
IV. Digital Media and Fabrication
V. Practice and Management

The pedagogy of the MArch(Design) programme is focused on design studios, supported by required core courses and elective seminars in five categories, namely History and Theory, Urbanisation and Habitation, Technology and Sustainability, Digital Media and Fabrication, and Practice and Management. This structure aims to enable students to explore the boundaries of disciplinary knowledge with methodological rigour while engaging critically with the constraints of contemporary practice.

In the first five semesters of the programme, students select from the Design Studio courses offered by staff with a diverse range of backgrounds and expertise.

These Design Studios serve as the testing ground for skills and knowledge acquired in seminars and lectures.

In the Design Studio during the final semester, students focus on a self-directed design thesis, formulated individually and supervised by staff in the Department, as a conclusion of the MArch(Design) curriculum. In addition to demonstrating satisfactory ability in the technical aspects of architectural practice, the thesis should produce innovative work that extends and enriches knowledge in the broader field of architecture.

Through our expanding network of international institutional partners, the MArch(Design) programme offers a wide variety of joint studios, sponsored studios, and other forms of collaborative teaching and learning, in which there are opportunities for travel and academic exchanges abroad, knowledge exchange within the community and in China, direct contact with fabricators in industry, and experiential learning on real-world projects.