Architectural Association introduces new postgraduate conservation and reuse programme

The Architectural Association (AA) School of Architecture has launched a new postgraduate programme in conservation and reuse, beginning in September 2025. The MA/PGDip course, which is the AA’s first new programme in a decade, aims to address climate change by cultivating practices centred around reuse and material conservation.

The Conservation and Reuse programme will explore conservation through historical and theoretical frameworks, aiming to redefine value and heritage in architecture. As Amandine Kastler and Rod Heyes, heads of the programme, explained, “There is a pressing need for a new generation of practitioners able to radically reimagine existing structures and situations.” They emphasised that the course will be “rigorous and will challenge orthodoxy” by combining material culture and design practice, addressing contemporary demands for sustainable conservation.

Incorporating buildings, landscapes, and wider material culture, the programme intends to cultivate an understanding of resource conservation and cultural significance.

Students will investigate these issues within a structured curriculum that includes practical workshops and seminars, ultimately developing a design thesis to address a chosen situation. The AA believes that this approach will equip future designers with the “ethical, critical and technical skills” needed for transformative work with existing structures.