James Brown

Associate Professor of Architecture, with a particular interest in critical pedagogy and the role of design-build and live projects in architectural education.

James studied Architecture at the University of Sheffield (BA Honours 2004 & Master of Architecture 2008) and Queen's University Belfast (2012). He has held academic positions at De Montfort University, Norwich University of the Arts, the Royal College of Art and the University of Nottingham.

James is responsible for five consecutive History of Architecture courses in the Architecture program at UMA. The courses provide students with core knowledge about the history of the discipline, including exemplar buildings and architects, while also developing research and writing skills.

Current research includes a Kempe Foundation project examining the role of timber in architectural education with postdoctoral researcher Francesco Camilli; and two forthcoming books: Architectural thinking in a climate emergency (Routledge, 2023) with Sofie Pelsmakers (Tampere University, Finland), and Studio Properties with Elizabeth Boling (Indiana University, USA), James Corazzo (Sheffield Hallam University, UK), Colin M. Gray (Purdue University, USA) Derek Jones (Open University, UK), Nicole Lotz (Open University, UK) and Lorraine Marshalsey (University of South Australia, Australia).

Winner of Umeå University's Faculty of Science and Technology educational award 2021 for innovation and quality of education in the History of Architecture courses.