We’re already busy behind the scenes, planning an exciting year ahead and crafting inspiring project briefs for our students. Over the past few years, our students have tackled amazing real-world projects in collaboration with partners like The Royal Air Force Museum, Tyseley Energy Park, and Rodney Melville + Partners — and they’ve produced some truly outstanding work 👏 .

One area our staff and students especially enjoy exploring is the adaptation and reuse of existing buildings on brownfield sites. Our latest project brief — currently being developed in Walsall — promises to be something really special (though we’re keeping the details under wraps for now! 😁).

Last week, WLVArchitecture David Heesom FCIAT and Nigel Moore headed out to site to kick off the surveying and collect data on the existing building. This information will feed into the project pack for students. Alongside the design brief, we’ll be introducing them to digital documentation techniques, including laser scanning, SLAM, and photogrammetry — but it’s always great to have some first-hand data to get started!

More details coming soon… but we can’t wait to see our students dive into this one! 🚀

Thanks to Paul Boden, Paul Davies, Karis Cochrane & Sam Davey-Jones for attending our final outreach event for this academic year!

It has been a super busy year but we love facilitating where we can.

Dear Schools & Colleges – we run many of these fantastic Discovery Days throughout the year. If you are interested in attending next year (2024/25), please get in touch with our brilliant Schools and Colleges Team at the University of Wolverhampton. Details below:

Schools and Colleges – please email: schoolsandcolleges@wlv.ac.uk
or email: wlvarch@wlv.ac.uk

Our Next Open Day – book your place here: https://lnkd.in/eE3dFzCu

From Monday 7th to Friday 11th July 2025 the WLVArchitecture department hosted 24 students from eight schools and colleges from the region including Grace Academy Darlaston, St Peter’s Collegiate Academy, Haberdashers' Abraham Darby, St Edmund Campion Catholic School, The Royal School Wolverhampton, Dudley College, Codsall Community High School and Haybridge High School.

The weeklong summer architecture workshop took place on our award-winning Springfield Campus, and the aim of the was to offer budding architects a hands-on insight into architectural thinking. The week started with a site visit and ended with compelling group presentations. For the entire week, our studios were buzzing with creativity and collaboration as we set the challenge to design a café kiosk for a live site adjacent to our campus.

During the workshop, the students had short snippets of lectures on various architectural concepts introducing them to what a university experience might be like and then giving them chance to explore their creative ideas in our dedicated studio spaces. The entire academic team were on hand throughout the week to support them helping them to develop a wide range of architectural skills including sketching, technical drawing, model making and digital modelling techniques. By the end of the week, each team had developed a unique response to the design challenge, showcasing their ideas through plans, sketches, physical models, and a 5-minute pitch to our staff panel.

Architecture course leader Olive White said “This was an amazing week. In the past we have had a number of students who have asked to come and spend a week with us as part of their School work experience and so this year we thought we’d open it up to more schools and the response was amazing. The students have exceeded our expectations and produced some fantastic work along with bringing energy, ideas, and enthusiasm to the studio. We look forward to seeing where their journeys take them and hope this week has opened their eyes to the architecture professions and the amazing opportunities here at Wolverhampton.”

Before starting at the University of Wolverhampton, I wasn’t sure exactly what course I wanted to do. Most of my education I wanted to get into architecture, as I had an early passion for creating and design. However, after an unfortunate set of A-Level grades I doubted my ability to perform well in this course.

This caused me to switch my course to Geography, following my love for nature and the environment. But on the morning of Clearing, something clicked I decided to take a chance by calling the university to apply for Architecture with a Foundation Year. Looking back now, that decision shaped everything.

Going into foundation, I was still afraid of not being good enough, but thankfully the structure of foundation year eased me into an academic life with each module covering different skills I would need in the degree.

Finally starting the architecture degree was an exciting yet nerve-racking experience. From the first week it felt fast paced and challenging. There was a lot to cover and a lot to learn. Luckily, there was a lot of good support from the team of lecturers who always made themselves available for crits and advice on projects or any problems we may have. This helped me stay on track with work while still being able to enjoy time away from the course. This was a theme that ran through the whole undergraduate course, the lecturers were always there when you needed help and support with anything. I believe this is what makes studying at the University of Wolverhampton unique as other university lecturers may not be able to give up as much of their time due to the plethora of students. In my cohort there were never more than 25-30 students, so this allowed us to foster a closer relationship with the team of lectures which truly made this experience as amazing as it was.

Of course, you must show up for yourself too. There were artistic blocks, moments of exhaustion, even times where I had to completely restart a project. But these challenges made the journey so rewarding. Studying architecture teaches you to trust the process, accept failure, and let ideas evolve. I learned to never fear failure because it often led to something better than what I imagined.

Another thing that made this course so enjoyable was the extra events and competitions set up by the team. For example, Vertical Project, speed sketching, theory talks, Portfolio making tips, Rhino crash course and so much more. There were always extra things you could do to better your skills and learn more. This made the journey always feel active and alive. Vertical projects being one of my favourites, it was a week where everyone from all the year groups were separated into random groups, and they competed against each other on a project. This was always an amazing week that we looked forward to. It helped getting everyone comfortable with each other and making more friendships while also promoting healthy competition.

I truly think I wouldn’t have been as confident of a designer as I am now if I didn’t go to this university. Thanks to the support of my lecturers (and their patience with my constant need for feedback), I was able to get a job in a very respected architecture firm in Birmingham straight after ending my undergraduate. My university experience would have never been this perfect if the team of lecturers weren’t there every step of the way.

Exciting evening for WLVArchitecture (University of Wolverhampton).

Olive White & Karis Cochrane were delighted to attend the Midlands branch Women in Property National Student Awards at Shoosmiths Birmingham this evening to support Samantha Elliott, our brilliant level 5 BSc Architecture student who has made it to the final!

Samantha's brilliance and dedication to her craft has been evident throughout her tenure at University of Wolverhampton and she now will go on to represent the region with two other students at the national finals in London in September. This recognition is well deserved, and we are so pleased for Samantha as a very passionate advocate for the future of our built environment.

We are so proud! 👏🏻👏🏻

#womenInProperty #architecture #BuiltEnvironment #WolverhamptonUniversity

The Level 6 Architecture and Architectural Technology students have been engaged this semester with their final design project. We extend our gratitude to all individuals supporting our students, particularly Andrew Hassell who has participated in all reviews, providing invaluable insights, especially given Glancy Nicholls Architects involvement in multiple projects in Wolverhampton.

The students are working very hard on developing a Library of Things for St Georges a brownfield site in Wolverhampton. A Library of Things is a community-oriented lending library that provides objects for borrowing rather than purchasing. The objective is to minimise waste, conserve financial resources, and advocate for sustainability.

As part of their Architectural Practice module assignment, Level 6 students took part in microplacements with local practices. Pairs of students spent a minimum 6hrs, organised to suit the practice and themselves, with a practice delving into three of seven set topics, all about the realities of working on live projects and running a business. On their return the student presented these topics to their peers and we were blown away by their perceptive takes on their experiences.

This was such a valuable part of the student learning and experience and we are incredibly grateful to those practices that shared their time and expertise in the scheme - Glancy Nicholls, Corstophine & Wright, Donald Insall, Baily Garner, RG+P and Weedon. 🙌🙌🙌

Level 5 Architecture students spent this week wandering sun-lit Porto with Olive and Sam, soaking up its rich architectural tapestry and vibrant culture.

We explored:

• Church of São Francisco, marveling at its Baroque gilt interiors
• Galeria de Arquitectura, home to rotating contemporary exhibits
• Palácio da Bolsa, with its ornate Arab Room
• Casa da Música by Rem Koolhaas, a striking example of modern concert-hall design

A special thanks to Paulo Moreira and his studio team for opening their doors and sharing how they tackle urban conflict and social deprivation through context-driven design.

The trip was a huge success and students returned inspired, with full sketchbooks, camera reels, and minds, buzzing with new ideas. We’re grateful to the University for making this immersive experience possible!

It was fantastic to host the Wolverhampton & District Society of Architects AGM this week and even more amazing to see our Alumni actively involved. The Society is a long standing and amazing supporter of everything we do here in WLVArchitecture and we can't thank them enough for their support over the years. Here's to lots more opportunities together in the future 👏

We were delighted that two of our students exhibited their work at the Birmingham Architectural Association's Women in Architecture Event this year. Both Johanna Stant our MArch student and Samantha Elliott our BSc Architecture student were excellent emabssadors for the evening and were well supported by both their peers and staff inlcuding Olive White, Karis Cochrane & Sam Davey-Jones.

We were also delighted to hear our supporter and past educator Emma Cochrane provide a compelling speech on her career as an architect, which was highly inspirational for our female students.

Grateful to the members and sponsors of the Birmingham Architectural Association particularly Bethany Long for her relentless efforts in organising this and other inspirational and supportive events. Thank you.

Thomas Telford UTC is located within our campus, and we are pleased to extend invitations to their students for activities whenever possible.

This week, we had the privilege of inviting some of the T-Levels students including Ryan Skitt to our CPD session on embodied carbon and construction materials, presented by Neil Kirk of The Façade Collective.

Subsequently, we provided them with a tour of the studios to discuss their ongoing projects with the students and it was great for them to catch up with some of their past alumni including Sahad Ahmed & Nadiya Paul Thank you to the continued support of Andrew Bristow Laura Fletcher & Takudzwa Watson Chirara for their ongoing support in providing opportunities for the students.

WLVArchitecture (University of Wolverhampton) are excited to launch our Vertical Project this morning in Springfield. This is a unique and collaborative initiative which the school runs every year which brings together both staff and students from all years of both Architecture and Architectural Technology courses in our dedicated architecture spaces.

Our emphasis remains on current issues, and 2025 is no exception.

We will be looking at an existing building on our site in Springfield – Block A and reimagining the existing space to provide our Forensic Science Colleagues a “New Scene House”. This project is a fantastic opportunity for our students to engage in hands-on, real-world problem-solving and to innovate solutions for the intersection of architecture, sustainability, and functionality.

The week will be augmented by lectures and seminars to teach and inspire us to integrate cutting edge retrofit strategies to bring Block A into the 21st century whilst respecting the past. We are very excited to see how our students will push boundaries and provide transformative designs. The significant turnout of our students at 9 AM this morning, despite some still completing assignments and preparing for the resumption of regular instruction next week, is a testimonial to their enthusiasm.

We are delighted to be joined by John Christophers Architect and retrofit expert this morning.

This week we will also be visting the Reuse Hub who partner with West Midlands construction industry to divert surplus materials, providing affordable building materials to communities with Debbie Ward - Circular Economy and Carbon literacy.

Huge thanks in facilitating the visit to Willow Court Farmhouse goes to Janine Rusby, Messenger BCR Group, The Worcestershire Building Preservation Trust, West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust, (WMHBT) and Rodney Melville + Partners.

We were delighted to be joined by the brilliant architect and storyteller Alan McCartney from Howells this evening at our Annual Christmas lecture. Great to see our students so eager to ask about fire safety in High-rise. (refer to photo 4!)

What a brilliant way to finish off our semester and meet up with past alumni all kindly supported by Leigh Holt Chair of Local Wolverhampton district society of architects and RIBA West Midlands.

In a rather hectic last week of the teaching semester we were hugely grateful to Sarah Worth for coming in to speak to all of the WLVArchitecture students about Architectural Storytelling. We loved having you here and it was a fascinating presentation - certainly got all of the students considering how they approach presenting their work going forward with lots of discussions in studio that afternoon!!

Thank you again Sarah, and we look forward to seeing you again soon 👏👏👏

Just before Christmas, on a brilliantly clear and crisp morning, our Level 4 and Level 5 Architecture students set out from the University of Wolverhampton for a walking tour of Birmingham’s city centre. With scarves tucked in and coats zipped up, the group wound its way through narrow lanes and open plazas, pausing now and again to admire the intricate interplay of old and new in Birmingham’s evolving skyline.

Our ultimate destination was One Centenary Way, where Arup has recently completed a striking new office space. Thanks to Alison Kilby for welcoming us; she graciously stepped away from a busy schedule to offer an insider’s tour.

We're getting to the business end of the semester here at WLVArchitecture and this week students from the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) BSc(Hons) Architectural Design Technology have started to review their design projects with the immersive technologies we have available in the Construction Holodeck on our Springfield Campus.

A whole new way of engaging with designs using Unreal Engine, Twinmotion, HTC VIVE and KAT VR!