Convergence of architecture, film and gaming – Architectural design at UCL

The advanced course "Cinematic and Videogame Architecture MArch" is the first of its kind in Europe and teaches students how to use revolutionary architectural design methods based on film, animation, and game technology. Students will critically evaluate their work in light of new advances in time-based digital media and their impact on our culture, identity, and politics.

The Bartlett School of Architecture, located on UCL's brand-new UCL East campus , is now accepting applications for the 2025 program, which starts in September.

On the fusion of architecture, film production and gaming

Rapid advances in digital technology have brought the previously disparate fields of architecture, film, and video games closer together than ever before.

Architecture has long served as a fundamental structural component in both films and video games. From the construction of film sets to advances in film composition techniques and improvements in computer graphics, the representation of space has been a major challenge. This has been particularly true for the realization of our current media landscape of film and video games. The narrative potential of time-based and interactive media, in turn, is changing not only the construction and representation of architecture, but also its conception and experience.

Back in June 2024, Worldbuilding: Gaming and Art in the Digital Age explored the interplay between gaming and time-based media art . It was the first cross-generational exhibition of its kind to analyze how contemporary artists worldwide use the aesthetics and technology of video games as a means of expression.

The exhibition, commissioned by the Julia Stoschek Foundation and curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, will travel to various institutions around the world in the coming years * . The exhibition features works by more than 50 artists, including Rebecca Allen, Cory Arcangel, LaTurbo Avedon, Meriem Bennani, Ian Cheng, Cao Fei, Harun Farocki , Porpentine Charity Heartscape, Pierre Huyghe, Rindon Johnson, KAWS, Sondra Perry, Jacolby Satterwhite, Sturtevant and Suzanne Treister, at the Julia Stoschek Foundation in Düsseldorf and the Centre Pompidou-Metz.

The sheer size of the gaming industry was the subject of the FORBES article "The Gaming Industry: A Behemoth With Unprecedented Global Reach" * and can also be seen in rapidly growing online communities such as EGamersWorld .

Students in the first curriculum of its kind in the United Kingdom will critically examine their work in relation to new advances in time-based digital technologies and their impact on our culture, identity, and politics. They will innovative methods of architectural design .

What are the main focuses of the study program?

The curriculum prepares students for the future of architectural design by developing skills that can also be applied in the film and gaming industries, as well as in VR/AR environments. Students master innovative design techniques that combine film, animation, and game engine software.

They are supported by a world-class team of lecturers and visiting industry professionals to become architectural storytellers and world-builders who address the world's most pressing problems. Students develop their own creative practice through design projects and theoretical writing. This culminates in the creation of a final project that showcases their own research methods through a film, game, or interactive environment.

The program fundamentally rethinks architectural design through an immersive, time-based, and interactive lens. By combining architecture with cinema and video games, students acquire skills applicable to the architectural profession, the film industry, the video game industry, and other developmental fields such as immersive environmental design.

Graduates possess the skills and critical thinking abilities to pursue careers across a wide range of industries, including entertainment and the built environment. They can also create new hybrid practices at the intersection of architecture and game design, filmmaking, and theory.

How is the program provided?

Taught by internationally renowned experts in cutting-edge digital technologies, the program is housed on UCL's new campus, UCL East. It features state-of-the-art design studios and computer facilities, as well as shared media and workshop spaces. The program is built on a strong, experimental, and practice-oriented studio component, complementing hands-on learning with rigorous theoretical research. Students explore theoretical topics through lectures and introductory design projects, supplemented by modules on digital skills.

This interdisciplinary approach allows students to test ideas and establish new research methods, leading to architectural design projects conceived and realized through films, video games, and hybrid digital-physical environments.

Professor Penelope Haralambidou and Dr. Luke Caspar Pearson oversee the program. Penelope's teaching and research utilize a unique practice-based technique that explores spatial culture through drawing, modeling, digital video, and immersive settings. Luke is the co-founder of You+Pea, a design research studio that combines architecture with video games and collaborates with cultural and educational institutions as well as industrial clients. He is also the co-author of Videogame Atlas (Thames & Hudson, 2022).

Who is this course suitable for?

UCL is seeking applications from architecture graduates and professionals, as well as those from other fields such as design, filmmaking, film studies, anthropology, geography, fine arts, video game design, graphic design, animation, and computer-generated image design. Applicants should be interested in exploring the relationship between architecture, cinema, and video games in greater depth and should have a strong academic and/or practical track record.

Admission requirements:

Generally, an academic degree in a relevant field, as well as an equivalent international qualification or extensive relevant industry experience (7+ years of professional experience), is required. Once a complete application has been received, applicants will be asked to provide a link to a portfolio of their design work.

Work should only be sent or uploaded when requested. Offers are contingent upon an interview.

Watch the recording of the virtual open event for the Cinematic and Videogame Architecture MArch at the Bartlett School of Architecture. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of what this course is about.

Application deadlines

The application deadline is April 4, 2025, for candidates applying for a UK visa, and August 29, 2025, for those not requiring a UK visa. Detailed information can be found on the Cinematic and Videogame Architecture or in the UCL prospectus.

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