Whether for reasons of size or our unique art and design surroundings, the RCA is a very special place to study architecture. We celebrate architecture as a distinct discipline. We also invite influence from product design, graphics and fashion, and in fact from any theme that might arise from any corner of the college. Looking at the city similarly, four Architectural Design Studios (ADSs) pursue urban themes with a cultural edge, creating a context for the thesis projects illustrated on the following pages. All of them are based in London, and reflect the life that Londoners lead or might want to lead. We believe in the link between the present and the future, and what role architecture should play in bridging between them.

ADS1 explores the contradictions in London as a global and a local city, looking at how these might be exploited in architecture.

ADS2 shows how the city might be re-planned to create all kinds of new opportunities for raising the bar, commercially as well as architecturally.

ADS3 asks what effect new forms of social contract might accompany a rapidly evolving multi-everything society, and how these might be represented through new kinds of civic buildings.

ADS4 is hurtling towards a future that encompasses catastrophe; how will design in the South East anticipate flooding, a possible nuclear leak or a disintegrating society? And will any of these scenarios have any resonance for designing tomorrow?