ESALA is a joint school of the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh College of Art. It formally commenced in August 2009 under the auspices of a wider academic federation between the two institutions.

The joint School is the culmination of a project that began in 2004 with funding from the Scottish Government to combine professional programmes in architecture (ARB/RIBA Parts 1 & 2) at the two institutions, to integrate existing programmes in architecture and landscape architecture at the University and the College and, in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University’s School of the Built Environment, to enrich programmes at postgraduate level and enhance research capacities.

ESALA claims particular knowledge of and design agency in the following five areas:

• Contemporary Cities

• Place, Heritage and Conservation

• Cultural and Natural Environments, Wellbeing and Sustainability

• Technological Innovation and Change

• Hybrid (material-digital) Design Media and Creative Processes

The School is a collegiate community of highly-qualified and skilled scholars, support staff, visiting tutors, alumni and students dedicated to disciplinary concerns and open to interdisciplinary engagements across art and design as well as the humanities, social sciences and built environment sciences. It has strong and vibrant alliances with the architectural and landscape professions and other community, cultural and business groupings in Scotland. It has clearly articulated links with relevant schools and institutions internationally. It engages in policy debates nationally and internationally both within teaching and through research activities.

ESALA Research

In preparation for the formation of the School the decision was taken to prepare a joint submission for the 2008 UK research assessment exercise (RAE).

According to the results of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008 published in January 2009, ESALA, which combines researchers from Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh College of Art, leads Scotland in research in architecture, landscape architecture and the built environment.

Many of our programmes involve field trips to varous parts of Scotland, the UK, Europe and further afield. You can find more detail of these in the Field Trips link.

Within UK architecture and landscape architecture ESALA ranks second in terms of volume of the highest quality research. The Edinburgh School scored 70% overall in the 4* and 3* categories, indicating outstanding or excellent international quality and impact across research environment, esteem and published outputs. A combination of journal articles, books, designs and other creative works were assessed, covering landscape architecture, digital media, and architectural design, history, and technology.
The ESALA submission to RAE 2008 provides an excellent platform for the future development of the new School.