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By putting creative design and advanced technologies in the same space, The Bartlett is taking a bold step into a future that will strengthen its interdisciplinary research and teaching.
Built environment professionals have a unique responsibility to actively shape not only the industry in which they work, but the world in which we all live. Here East opens a new chapter in The Bartlett’s history. It provides a facility, groundbreaking in its scale and scope, to get creative with some of the most advanced technology available, and the opportunity to train a new generation of highly skilled, interdisciplinary engineers and architects.
Collaborating with Engineers
When architectural education at UCL was founded in the 1840s, architecture and engineering students enjoyed a close relationship, sharing facilities and ambitions. But they have never shared a degree until now, with the launch of The Bartlett’s new MEng Engineering and Architectural Design.
We asked: what happens when you take the internationally renowned design talent at The Bartlett School of Architecture and combine it with the rigorous project-based education of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering? Taught in conjunction with UCL CEGE and IEDE the MEng takes the design studio model of architecture and combines it with advanced fabrication facilities and engineering labs to evolve the model of architectural training, putting experimentation and prototyping at its heart.
Solving big problems in a big space
Central London is dense. The Bartlett’s Bloomsbury location has never cramped its style, but we could all use a little breathing room. That’s why we’re excited about the possibilities for innovation at Here East. Designed by Hawkins\Brown, this 32,206 square-foot space – that includes a robot hall and makespace capable of allowing work on full-scale components from the aviation and construction industries – opens up a new realm of potential.
Teaming up with cutting-edge robots
Here East will be home to some world-class resources. We’ll have 11 robots and a whole suite of fabrication, experimentation, testing and study resources, alongside cutting-edge labs that are fully equipped with analogue and digital fabrication facilities, including robotics, 3D printing and scanning, CNC milling, waterjet and laser cutting. One of the robots already has a nickname – Professor Tickle.
Making heritage mobile
SEAHA (Science and Engineering in Arts, Heritage and Archaeology) will be parking their unique Mobile Heritage Lab at Here East. When they get the call, the team will be able to load up their lab with specialised heritage equipment such as a ground penetrating radar, hyperspectral cameras, a weather station and pollution monitors, and head out on research and public engagement missions.
Reframing the idea of Real Estate
The second phase of building at Here East will create a home for the new Bartlett Real Estate Institute – an innovative executive education and research hub based on valuing ‘intangibles’ in today’s development industry. The Real Estate Institute will place the previously overlooked notions of design, heritage, sustainability and urban place-making at the centre of its teaching and rewrite the rules of the sector.
Representing UCL in the Olympic Park
Things are moving East. The Olympics nudged the centre of London towards Stratford, and the university, arts and innovation sectors are only strengthening this gravitational pull. The Bartlett at Here East will be the first representation UCL has on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and it’ll be a great opportunity to shape this neighbourhood for years to come.
Joining a thriving community
Here East is collecting a thriving community of residents, with manufacturing, media, education and tech at its heart. Our neighbours are as varied as an internationally renowned dance studio, Wayne McGregor, and the production hub of BT Sport. Occupying the former Olympic press and broadcast centres, Here East is an experimental and flexible place designed to foster collaboration, participation and cooperation.