Skip to main content
What types of page to search?

Popular pages: Undergraduate Postgraduate PhD Accommodation Research International students

Alternatively use our A-Z index.
New working area in the School of Archtiecture building

Liverpool School of Architecture

Official opening of the new Liverpool School of Architecture building, 5 November 2026.

Welcome to the new Liverpool School of Architecture

This impressive new space provides our students with cutting-edge teaching and research facilities, including virtual reality and digital design suites, collaborative workspaces and a dedicated exhibition area designed to showcase student work.

Mezzanine level with people walking round in the new Architecture School building

The new building has been carefully integrated with the School’s historic buildings, creating modern teaching and collaboration spaces while respecting the character of the existing campus.

The design of the building was developed over ten years through a design competition which involved students, Faculty members and University staff in an inclusive process. The judging panel assessed 18 firms which were then shortlisted down to six, with Irish firm O’Donnell and Tuomey being unanimously selected.

To commemorate the opening of the new building, guest of honour, alumnus Anton Lesser, will perform the official opening of the building and receive an honorary degree.

Read about the design competition
Watch on Panopto:

Explore the new building

Watch the video walkthrough celebrating our new extension by O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects.

You can also explore the first photographs taken of the completed building in early 2026.

View the photographs
Iside fo an exhibition space featuring a wooden arch with modernist carvings, and a trestle table with books laid out.

The Liverpool School of Architecture: A Retrospective

Visit the exhibition which covers the history of the school, alumni, buildings, and projects. The show includes works from across the world as well as drawings, fabrics, films, books, products, and a series of architectural models.

Read more about the exhibition

History of the School

Archive picture of Architecture students at drawing desks

The Liverpool School of Architecture is an important part of the University's history and the Liverpool artistic and architectural community. Architecture was one of the earliest subject-based schools to be established at the University of Liverpool in the late 1800s. The School of Architecture and Applied Arts was founded in 1894, led by the first Roscoe Professor of Architecture, Frederick Moore Simpson.

From 1904, under the direction of Sir Charles Reilly the School built up its reputation. Reilly published two volumes of the School's work and became an authority on achitecture education. And in 1924 the School became the first to run RIBA validated degrees.

Some of the School's graduates have built many important buildings in Liverpool and their work spread a style of architecture that became known as the 'Liverpool Manner' around the world from Johannesburg to Cairo:

  • Herbert Rowse - designed India Buildings, ventilation towers of the Mersey Tunnels and the Philharmonic Hall
  • Harold Dod - designed the Harold Cohen Library and The Athenaeum
  • Frank Williamson - designed the main buildings of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg
  • Maurice Lyon - designed buildings in Cairo.

Notable alumni

Restored graduation portrait of Nora Dunphy

Today, the School has an established international reputation as a centre of excellence in architectural research and education, including six RIBA Gold Medal winners among its graduates and staff.

Some of our notable alumni include:

  • Norah Dunphy holds the distinction of being the first woman in the country to obtain a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1926
  • Irena Bauman won a RIBA award for her work on the south promenade of Bridlington
  • Jonathan Falkingham, co-founder of the groundbreaking firm of Urban Splash and architect / director of ShedKM, which have pioneered the regeneration of the city centres of Liverpool and Manchester together with other schemes throughout the UK
  • Jim Eyre of the firm Wilkinson Eyre, designer of the Millennium Bridge, Gateshead, the Liverpool Echo Arena and Conference Centre, as well as numerous international projects
  • Jonathan Ellis-Miller, multiple RIBA prize-winner.

Read more about our Architecture alumni.

Study Architecture

Find out what’s unique about studying Architecture, Building and Planning at Liverpool.