The community and practice-based research at the Leicester School of Architecture reaches audiences well beyond academia, both nationally and internationally. Our work delivers benefits to architectural practitioners, urban designers, social scientists, local communities and authorities, professional bodies, cultural historians and archaeologists, and many others seeking to interpret, make and remake the built environment.

With a growing research profile, our work covers architectural history and theory, building physics and modelling, the impact of climate and the economics of sustainable development, holistic approaches to planning, as well as expanding our understanding of how the making of the built environment constitutes and consolidates our cultural understandings.

Faculty staff act as peer reviewers for UK research councils and sit on the boards of journals, scientific committees for international conferences and advisory panels for professional bodies.

The Digital Building Heritage Group (DBHG) uses the latest technologies and deep expertise in architectural history to conjure the past from thin air, digitally reconstructing historic buildings to observe, analyse and interpret lost elements of the built environment.

Working in partnership with public, private and community heritage organisations, our high-quality, internationally recognised research crosses traditional boundaries and delivers real-world impact.

Our researchers use cutting edge technology, including 3D digital modelling, laser scanning and 3D printing to measure, visualise, interpret and understand historic and ancient buildings.

The DBHG has strong links with heritage organisations in the UK and overseas including English Heritage, the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).