The first year of the Experimental Programme (BA(Hons)) is not just an introduction to the architectural discipline. It is also an all-encompassing process of learning through searching, questioning, making and experimenting. We go beyond the study of architectural history; beyond the learning of skills. We operate by directly engaging with ideas and materials, exploring the fundamental bases of architecture alongside and in relation to the contemporary world. We question how to capture the future and engage with the present.

The academic year is structured around the combination of studio-based design work and Core Studies; the crossover between seminars, workshops and debates allows students to learn collectively and think independently, constructively engaging with different audiences by sharing their discoveries in a year-long portfolio. Composed of a range of media and informed by various modes of argumentation and representation, this comprehensive body of work, successfully completed, forms the basis of each student’s progress into the second year of study at the AA.

We aim not only to provide a solid base of knowledge for new entrants into architectural education, but further to empower students to expand their horizons and to develop the potential of their individual and collective ideas. Each student is encouraged to test out ideas, supported by the depth and diversity of academic and intellectual resources at the school. Independent lines of inquiry are enriched by and developed through active engagement with other creative disciplines, shared discussions, workshops, field trips and events.