MSc Global Housing Design

MSc in Global Housing Design

The Master in Global Housing Design offers an advanced architectural design post-graduate course in housing for future designers, policy makers and researchers. Through its unique research-led design curriculum, it offers a one year, three semester long programme, focused on housing and cities. The programme aims to negotiate the practical, theoretical and speculative aspects of housing design, rethinking housing for future urbanities. The programme prepares students to engage in ever more diverse and dynamic global landscapes in housing production, culture and politics.

You will learn various research methods to construct a critical overview on housing designissues in different metropolitan contexts. An interdisciplinary approach and multi-scalar lens will lead you to re-envision the city, its housing types, its homes, and its inhabitants, as part of a system that is mutually and retroactively produced.

1 year, full time programme

At the University of Liverpool (Liverpool) and London School of Architecture (London)

Starting September 2025

To register your interest, click here to visit the programme pages at the University of Liverpool.

How to Apply

This master’s programme is suitable for experienced architects, as well as graduates from an architectural design background.

You will normally need to have a 2:1 Honours or better, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in an appropriate field of study, with minimum 1-2 years professional experience. For applicants for whom English is not a first language, an IELTS score of 6.5 (with no individual score lower than 6.0) is required.

A2 – A3 Spreads Portfolio (horizontal format – max 10MB) and an online interview are part of the admissions process.

The Program will be launched in September 2025.

For any queries about the programme please contact: Johanna Muszbek

What You’ll Learn

  • In this course, students will:
  • Understand, investigate, theoretical and practical issues of housing design on a global scale.
  • Gain a holistic understanding of housing production (disciplines, stakeholders, impacts) and develop skills to interfere in the housing production through design on a local, national and global level.
  • Research and design skills to identify challenges and to provide design solutions in our residential environments in different urban contexts.
  • Digital fluency (BIM, Modelling, GIS, Environmental modelling)
  • Skills to effectively communicate to different stakeholders, develop impactful, systematic solutions and become active participants in shaping residential/urban environments.
  • Gain individual development through academic enquiry, peer discussion, scholarship and research skills in investigating housing design.
  • Gain academic and practical experience, specifically tailored for future employment and/or the pursuit of postgraduate studies.

Housing at University Of Liverpool

Established in 1894, the Liverpool School of Architecture was the first university in the UK to award a RIBA-accredited degree in Architecture.

We are ranked 3rd in the UK for Architecture (The Guardian University Guide 2024/25) and 5th in the sector for overall research classified as world leading (4) or internationally excellent (3) (REF 2021)

As one of the UK’s premier centres for architectural research and education, the Liverpool School of Architecture is the ideal place to pursue your studies particularly, when it comes to Housing.

Our membership of the School of the Arts and wider University presents intriguing specialist opportunities, in fields such as autonomous building systems, arts and building design, and climate change risk mitigation.

Work is underway on a major refurbishment of our premises, which will comprise a new-build addition of more than 2,000M. The £23 million scheme has been designed by Dublin-based architects O’Donnell + Tuomey and is expected to be completed by 2026.

Publications

Boughton, John, Municipal Dreams -Blog https://municipaldreams.wordpress. com/ 2013-
Boughton, John, History of Council Housing in 100 Estates, RIBA, 2022
Boughton, John, Municipal Dreams The Rise and Fall of Council Housing,Verso, 2018
Cartwright , Alistair, “The Un-Ideal Home: Fire Safety, Visual Culture and the LCC (1958–63),” 2020
Cartwright , Alistair, “Life Between Walls: Race, Subdivision and Lodging Houses in Postwar London,” 2020
Cartwright , Alistair, “Rented worlds: bedsits, boarding houses and multiple occupancy homes in postwar London, 1945- 1963,” 2020
Froimovich, Jocelyn and Muszbek, Johanna, How do we Live? Santiago Housing workshops, ARQ, 2018
Mejias Villatoro, Paco and Xi, Junjie, China’s Railway Transformation: History, Culture Changes and Urban Development, Routledge Research in Planning and Urban Design, 2022
Mejias Villatoro, Paco and Xi, Junjie, Off-Grid Toilets: Compilation, Analysis and Comparison Altrim, 2022
Pepper, Simon, High Social Housing in London c.1940-1970 in Mobilising Housing Histories, RIBA Publishing, 2017
Pepper, Simon, The Beginnings of High-Rise Social Housing in the Long 1940s: The Case of the LCC and Woodberry Down Estate in Architecture of the Welfare State, Routledge, 2015
Pepper, Simon, Stepney and the Politics of High-Rise Housing: Limehouse Fields to John Scurr House, 1925–1937, The London Journal, 34(1), 2009
Pepper, Simon, Homes unfit for heroes: The slum problem in London and Neville Chamberlain’s Unhealthy Areas Committee, 1919–21, Town Planning Review, 80(2), .
Pepper, Simon, Housing Improvement: Goals and Strategy, Lund Humphries, 1971
Simona Pierini, Orsina , Espegel, Carmen, van Gameren, Dick, Swenarton, Mark, Housing Atlas, Europe – 20th Century, Lund Humphries, 2023
Swenarton, Mark, A Street with a Difference Swenarton, In G. Steixner, & M. Welzig (Eds.), Luxury for Everyone Milestones in European Stepped Terrace Housing, Birkhauser, 2020
Swenarton, Mark, Homes Fit For Heroes: The Politics and Architecture of Early State Housing in Britain, Routledge, 2018
Swenarton, Mark, Cook’s Camden The Making of Modern Housing, Lund Humphries, 2017 Architecture and the Welfare State, Routledge, 2014
Swenarton, Mark, Building the New Jerusalem, IHS BRE Press, 2008

Symposium

Sao Paulo XII International Architecture Biennale “Everyday Infrastructures”, September 2019 Venice International Architecture Biennale “How do we live? London, Santiago, Shanghai” November 2021
“How do we Live in the Global South?”/ University of Liverpool – Pontificia Universidad Católica, December 2022

Exhibitions

Sao Paulo XII International Architecture Biennial “Everyday”, September – December 2019
Venice International Biennial, European Cultural Center, May – December, 2021
Florida International University, Miami Urban Centre, February – May, 2022

Our Partners

Delivered at the Liverpool School of Architecture, the programme takes advantage of our institutional partnerships and professional networks in London and internationally offering a multi-site delivery programme with an international outlook.

Partnerships with schools such as the London School of Architecture, Politecnico Milano and XJTLU in China are just a few examples presenting unique opportunities for you to benefit from a strong network of design and research culture.

You will benefit from the international academic collaborations this programme offers – both in terms of providing a wide range of global expertise and student exchange opportunities.

This programme offers an advanced graduate-level architectural design course in housing for future designers, policy makers and researchers alike.

Course Overview

Semester 1 will focus on the housing crisis, each student will be asked to identify a specific phenomenon, identify its causes and urban variables.
Please note: This is a newly launched programme – some modules may therefore be subject to change prior to the course start date.

Base Modules
ARCH751 Housing Design Crisis
ARCH753 Housing History and Theories from 1900 to the present
Optional Modules
ARCH716 Climatic Design for Sustainable Architecture
ARCH736 Heritage Management: Approaches and Methods
ARCH735 Heritage Perspectives and Policies
ARCH747 Net Zero Carbon Design
ENVS636 People and Planning
ENVS635 Planning for Housing and Home
ENVS411 Spatial Planning Challenges
ARCH731 Urban Design

Semester 2 will research housing types, understanding the design variables at stake and suitability of certain types in addressing specific urban issues. Students taking semester 2 in London are required to study ARCH754 and ARCH756. Students taking semester 2 in Liverpool are required to study ARCH 752 and ARCH707 and at least one optional module.

Please note: This is a newly launched programme – some modules may therefore be subject to change prior to the course start date.

Base Modules
ARCH752 Housing Types and Context
ARCH707 Research Methodology
ARCH756 Housing Research Methodology (in London)
ARCH754 Housing Types and Context (in London)
Optional Modules
ARCH725 BIM Implementation in Collaborative Environments
ARCH743 Digital Transformation and Construction
ARCH717 Environmental Assessment Techniques

Semester 3 (Summer) will give form to a thesis, specifically designed and formatted to address relevant audiences.
Module
ARCH723 Thesis: Design

Your Future

The MSc in Global Housing Design is an inclusive and diverse course, connecting research and design. Students will actively learn through case studies, discussing their projects with partners from industry, local governments, and developers. Students will increase their confidence through continuous presentations and reviews with local and international experts from various fields, becoming global housing experts.

From arrival to alumni, we will be with you all the way:

  • Careers and employability support, including help with career planning, understanding the job market and strengthening your networking skills
  • A dedicated student services team can help you get assistance with your studies, help with health and wellbeing, and access to financial advice
  • Confidential counselling and support to help students with personal problems affecting their studies and general wellbeing
  • Support for students with differing needs from the Disability advice and guidance team. They can identify and recommend appropriate support provisions for you.

After this programme and depending on your interests, students of this MSc will be trained to upgrade the current housing production through various professional channels:

  • Architecture offices
  • Central/Local government
  • Research institutions
  • NGOs
  • The construction industry
  • Research oriented students also may proceed to engage in a PhD programme.

Contact Us

For any queries about the programme please contact: Johanna Muszbek