Architecture today is an art, a technology and a business. In the modern building industry the architect is the one person who considers the building as a whole end product: serving a purpose, built of materials using technology, to a cost, for a client, providing an environment of space, light and climate, changing its context by its location and form and conveying artistic meaning.

For small buildings the architect can lead and manage the whole process. As projects become larger and more complex the architect becomes a member of a team or sometimes the leader of the team, often just one member but always from the beginning seeing the end product as a whole. From a comprehensive study of the requirements for a building the architect prepares a design concept which is continually adjusted and refined over the life of the project. The architect's role is one of continual creativity.

The BArch program provides graduates with an understanding of the forces that shape buildings and with the skills to guide those forces to a desired end product.