Research in the School of Art, Design and Architecture

Addressing global and societal challenges through collaborative research
Four Tet performs in the midst of a Squidsoup light installation in 2019 (all performance images on this page used courtesy of Rikard Österlund/Squidsoup)

Research in the School of Art, Design and Architecture

Addressing global and societal challenges through collaborative research
Research in the School of Art, Design and Architecture includes researchers working across the arts and humanities fields from fine arts to game design to architecture and environmental engineering. We have particular strengths in interdisciplinary collaboration from a local to a global scale to advance knowledge and catalyse change.
The focus of research in the School is on addressing global and societal challenges and researchers are actively engaged with stakeholders outside the University context to contribute to meaningful and tangible impact for people, the environment, and communities. Collaborative and creative partnerships and participatory arts practice lie at the core of our research. To achieve this, our research takes a place-based approach and aligns with Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business research themes around people and place.
Our research staff are active researchers within their fields and have a track record of successful AHRC, EPSRC, ESRC, ACE and British Academy research grants as well as Horizon 2020 and other EU-funded projects. 
Our priority is to maintain and develop a vibrant, supportive and inclusive research culture within the School and engage with the Faculty and University of Plymouth’s Strategic Research Institutes. We support a vibrant and diverse postgraduate and early career researcher community and have a wide programme of research development activities.

Research centres of excellence

The pinnacles of our research in the arts and humanities

Fishing nets
Centre for Coastal Communities
Identifying deep-rooted, structural challenges facing coastal communities and co-creating solutions to overcome them
Aerial view of crowd connected by lines
Centre for Place
Exploring the complex relationships between people and place
Computer music equipment using slime mould
Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research
World-leading research combining music, science and technology

Research groups

 
 
 
 

Featured research project

AHRC – Design Exchange Partnerships

The Design Exchange Partnerships (DEP) initiative, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), aims to foster collaborative projects that leverage design-led approaches to address the unique challenges faced by UK coastal and island communities in transitioning towards greener, more sustainable futures. This initiative emphasises the application of arts and humanities-led design research to create tangible impacts within these communities, focusing on practical solutions for achieving green transition goals.
Students analysing and taking pictures of flowers

Research impact

We drive impactful research, fostering innovation in creative industries, sustainable design, and architecture. Addressing global challenges like environmental sustainability and urban regeneration, our projects blend technology with cultural insights, influencing policy and shaping public spaces. Collaborating with communities, institutions, and industry, the School’s work enhances both academia and the broader art, design and architecture sector. 

Delivering impact

Discover the School of Art, Design and Architecture impact case studies submitted to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021

This Is Where We Are (TIWWA) is an immersive and interactive algorithmic sculpture fuelled by the data we collectively generate

Mike Phillips, Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts
Quorum: Cultural computation – enhancing audience engagement

BSc (Hons) Computing, Audio and Music TechnologyEduardo Miranda. computer music

Eduardo Miranda, Professor in Computer Music
Making music with brain signals to improve the quality of life of severely motor-impaired individuals

smart cities

Katharine Willis, Professor of Smart Cities and Communities
Achieving social inclusion through digital placemaking

 
Postgraduate research
The School of Art, Design and Architecture offers a breadth of postgraduate research programmes that are distinct in their focus on digital art and technology practice, transdisciplinary epistemologies, artistic ecologies, photographic and media art, urban and smart cities as well as building performance research. 
VR-IVT resarch group
Early Career Researcher Network for Arts, Humanities and Business
Our Early Career Researcher Network is dedicated to providing support and guidance to the diverse range people within the Faculty who self-identify as early-stage researchers, including doctoral students and academic staff in the early, ‘transitional’ stage of their career and research staff on fixed term contracts.
Find out more about the Early Career Researcher Network for Arts, Humanities and Business   
 

Key partners

 

Our facilities

Explore our research and support facilities

We are significantly investing in our campus and facilities to ensure a first-class research and working environment

3D printer, digital fabrication laboratory
Seating inside the Immersive Vision Theatre
Ceramics studio, Scott building
 

Our people

SHAPE disciplines address global challenges associated with marine, health and sustainability through the lens of place

Through five place-based research themes, we investigate the intricate relationships between communities, the natural world, and technology.
Locally, we co-create sustainable solutions to complex problems in order to build resilient and thriving neighbourhoods, cities, and regions. This work transcends geographical, social and political boundaries to become applicable on a global level.
place-based research
SHAPE - Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Economy 
rlb night view

Contact the School of Art, Design and Architecture

Professor Katharine Willis, Associate Head of School (Research)
Dr Anya Lewin, Postgraduate Research Coordinator

University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA