Dr. Laura Coucill - DELETE
School of Science, Engineering and Environment
Current positions
Senior Lecturer/Head of Architecture & Design
Biography
Laura is a prize-winning designer, with significant experience in teaching, research, and professional architectural practice. Prior to joining University of Salford, she was responsible for co-developing teaching and research in Future Urbanism at Queen’s University Belfast and held a number of key leadership teaching and research roles at the Manchester School of Architecture.
Laura’s practice expertise is in large industrial and complex heritage sites. She has experience of delivering large-scale industrial, healthcare and education projects across all RIBA Plan of Work stages and through a range of contracts, in professional practice. This experience informs her research interests in the spatial manifestation of culture, policy, and technology. These interests connect architectural design and urban space with digital and smart technologies, infrastructure, and decarbonisation.
I have secured and led several funded, industry focused and multi-disciplinary research projects which directly connect postgraduate teaching with live research activity and outputs. This work adopts cross-thematic spatial analysis techniques; combining historical and theoretical methodologies with contemporary data mapping to capture spatial capacity, operation, performance, and experience. Findings of her work underpin the re-evaluation of existing urban conditions and propose resilient, future urban forms and her projects typically involve working closely with multiple disciplines and external partners, including architectural practices, technology experts, local authorities, transnational and government organisations.
Areas of research
Sustainable Design, Urban Futures, Decarbonisation, Architectural and Infrastructural Heritage, Smart Cities
Areas of supervision
Architecture, Urban Futures, Infrastructure, Spatial Analysis, Heritage, Decarbonisation, Sustainability, Policy, Regulation
Laura has significant experience of teaching on accredited Architecture programmes at prominent HE Institutions, including Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), Manchester School of Architecture (MSA), Sheffield School of Architecture (SSoA) and Birmingham School of Architecture (BSA). This includes all aspects and subjects of architectural education, with strengths in design studio.
Laura’s academic teaching is always engaged with the contemporary issues and questions of the practice, industry, and profession of architecture. Her pedagogy adopts design-based work to explore and generate novel understandings of contemporary space. She is committed to developing research-led and industry-engaged experiences for students which offer practical experience of professional environments and activities through collaboration and engagement with live projects and external partners.
Laura’s research interests are in the spatial manifestation of culture, policy and technology, spanning contemporary and historical domains. Her work adopts cross-thematic spatial analysis techniques, which combines historical and theoretical methodologies with contemporary data mapping to capture spatial capacity, operation, performance and experience. Findings underpin the re-evaluation of existing urban conditions and propose resilient, future urban forms. This work has involved working closely with architectural practices, technology experts, local authorities, transnational and government organisations.
Laura is a founding member of the International Post-War Infrastructure research network, with expertise in post-war landscapes and architecture of the Central Generating Electricity Board (CEGB). Current projects explore built heritage and decarbonisation to question and examine the role of physical edifices and culture in the context of a rapidly developing and ephemeral digital framework.
Laura’s background is in architecture, from which she graduated with distinction. She is RIBA Part II qualified and a HEA Fellow, holds a PhD, PGCert Research Methods and PGCert Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.