Research output per year
Research output per year
Accepting PhD Students
Robert Brown is Professor and Master of Architecture Design Studio Leader, and served as Head of Architecture from 2011 - 2016. He is recognised as an accomplished and innovative teacher. He is consistently nominated by his students in the University's STAR Awards for Teaching Excellence, with his students regularly winning prizes in design competitions. He has lectured and been a guest tutor and critic nationally and internationally at 20 different schools of architecture, including: the Arab Academy (Egypt), the Architectural Association, Cardiff, Carleton (Canada), East London, Innsbruck, Kobe (Japan), Putra (Malaysia), Suzhou (China), Tongji (China) and Westminster universities. He has also been a visiting professor at Pavia University (Italy), Jiangnan University (China) and the City University of Macau (China). He has served as an external examiner or educational advisor at 9 different schools of architecture, including currently at the Arab Academy (Egypt), the University of Kent and University College London. He is also a member of the RIBA Validation Panel, and was on the RIBA Education Committee from 2014 - 2021. He has also published on architectural education and consistently is invited to review journal publications on pedagogy, and has been a member of the University of Plymouth's Pedagogic Research Institute and Observatory Steering Group.
Royal Institute of British Architects
PhD Students:
As DoS - completed (5):
‘Casting a Lie to the Land: Ritual, cultural landscape and connectivity to rivers’
‘Spatial Robustness'
'Research on the Waterfront of the Inner Harbor in Macau Based on Ecological and Environmental Sustainability (with City University of Macau)
‘Environmental Facilities System in the Historic District of Macao.’ (with City University of Macau)
‘Towards an Articulation of Architecture as a Verb - Learning from Participatory Development, Subaltern Identities and Textual Values’.
As DoS - current (2):
‘Interrogating local spatial syntax; Ope as dialogue between propinquity and spatial signification in a coded urban environment.’
‘Sustainable Development of Chinese Historic Districts’
As 2nd Supervisor - completed:
‘Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette: Representation, Interpretation, Perception’.
As 2nd Supervisor - current:
Masters students - completed:
‘Institutionalization of the Global South’s Experience in Urban Planning Education.’ (as co-supervisor with Dr Nancy Abd El-Moneim, Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Marine Transport - Smart Village)
I run a Master of Architecture Design Studio with studio work examining contested sites in the context of live urban regeneration projects. In these projects we work collaboratively with the local community (e.g., community based organisations, local authorities, social enterprises), private practices and developers, and other disciplines within the university (e.g., Fine Arts, Medicine). This work explores the potential of dialogic urban programs which enable synergies across difference. Over the past six years M Arch students have won 15 prizes in the international Creative Conscious Awards, including 5 Golds, 6 Silvers, 3 Bronzes and 1 Honourable Mention. Further recognition of student work includes: RIBA Silver Medal Commendation (2023), RIBA Silver Medal selected for exhibition at RIBA (2018) and RIBA Bronze Medal selected for exhibition at RIBA (2005); European Architectural Medals - Best Diploma Projects - Shortlisted (2017); 3D Reid Prize - Honourable Mention (2011); and Building Design Graduates of the Year (2009). Work in the studio has included collaboration with overseas schools, including the Arab Academy (Egypt), City University of Macau, Gdansk Technical University and Riga Technical University. Alongside Design Studio teaching I developed and run a module exploring ritualised behaviours and practices and their potential to inform design praxis.
In addition to Design Studio teaching I have taught History and Theory modules at both BA Arch Year 1 and Master of Architecture. Coursework in the former has pursued a critical examination of people, place and tectonics as generators of design thinking; in the latter coursework has investigated considerations of: cultural groundings of architectural language; critical thinking and pedagogy; and urbanism. Additionally I have taught History and Theory Dissertation at both BA Arch and M Arch levels.
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference proceedings published in a journal › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review