This Masters degree is aimed at graduates who want to use creative practice to design, investigate and interpret urban places.
Course directors
MIKE DEVEREUX
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I specialise in understanding and interpreting place, in particular I explore the way in which the evolution of place and our perception of it is influenced by traditions, cultures and ideas. My output draws upon narratives of nationality, identity, language and belonging. I am particularly interested in how abstract concepts such as these shape places and how the arts - written and visual - help us to better understand these concepts and their influence on place. My work has been published and exhibited both nationally and internationally; I have also contributed to a number of television programmes about place.
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At the moment, I am working jointly with David Littlefield to examine the perception of public and private spaces in our cities, asking just how important are concepts such as familiarity and a sense of belonging in creating meaningful places and how we might map such intangible constructs. As well as that joint research I am also working on research that explores how we use language to shape ideas of place.
I lead the BA (Hons) Architecture & Planning degree (RIBA/ARB/RTPI accredited). I lecture at UWE, Bristol and EU partner insitutions in narratives of place and also run an architecture design studio.
DAVID LITTLEFIELD
I am a Senior Lecturer at UWE Bristol. With Mike Devereux, I'm co-director of the MA Urban Design, and teach across the university’s degree programmes in architecture, interior architecture and design. I have written, or made substantial contributions to, more than a dozen books on design, architecture and cities, notably: Architectural Voices: listening to old buildings (Wiley Academy, 2007); Liverpool One, remaking a city centre (Wiley, 2008); and London [re]generation (AD, Wiley, 2012).
My research focuses on notions of heritage, authenticity and place, including long-term studies of Bath Abbey and the nearby Roman baths. My present research, conducted in association with Mike Devereux, concerns the nature of public space – in particular, the role of privately-owned public space, and how such places contribute to ideas of identity and belonging.
I have had work exhibited at the Royal West of England Academy (2013); I co-organised the international conference “Transgression” on behalf of the Architectural Humanities Research Association (Bristol, 2013); and curated the exhibition “Unseen Hands: 100 years of structural engineering” at the V&A (2008). I sit on the editorial board of the journal Interiors: design, architecture culture (Routledge) and co-edit the online journal IE:Studio for the Interior Educators network.
