Laura Harty
Job title:
Lecturer in Architectural Design/Detail
Role:
Director of Education ESALA
Office:
Room 2.53 Minto House
Research Output:
Edinburgh Research Explorer linkBiography
Laura Harty is an architect, educator and founding partner of Saothar Architects: a reflective and critical studio practice. As Lecturer in Architectural Design and Detail at the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA), her research and teaching engages with forms of tacit knowledge in architectural production, teasing out how these can be identified, discussed and articulated; thinking about what they do. This work expresses itself through a range of discrete but interconnected practices, from curriculum planning to procurement, building design to experimental writing. Laura is interested in the conceptualisation, organisation and registration of architectural thinking across a variety of scales and methodologies, with a focus on expanding disciplinary confines, showing how architecture manifests itself in lines of thought, positions and approaches both within and without buildings.
At ESALA, Laura is the Subject Area Director of Education, convening and collating curriculum change projects, professional accreditation, validation and skills for success initiatives across 4 undergraduate and 7 postgraduate programmes. She acted as director for MA (Hons) Architecture programme (2021-2024) during which time students won several local, national and international prizes. As an active member of ESALA Climate Action, a student and staff group, she promotes diverse responses to the climate emergency in the School’s pedagogies, operations, research, and community practices. Her work, in collaboration with the ESALA projects office and practice experience supervision, has opened opportunities for successful student-led initiatives: Scavenger Collective 23/24, Visualising Old College 25/26 and Drawing the Grounds of Protest 26/27. Laura is active is proposing, supporting and hosting a range of international fellows, professors and examiners annually whose input enlivens and seeds important discourse at all levels across the school. Laura contributes to the Education work stream of the Royal Incorporation of Scotland (RIAS) and acts as External Examiner at the University of Strathclyde (2023 - 2026) and at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London (2024-2028). She sits on the jury of both the Edinburgh Architectural Association and the Glasgow Architects association annual awards.
Prior to joining ESALA, Laura studied architecture at University College Dublin, undertaking a period of exchange at the Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, Stockholm, and a post-graduate masters in Architectural Theory and Criticism at Newcastle University. She qualified as an architect in 2008, and subsequently worked on several competition and award winning projects with O’Donnell + Tuomey.
Research interests
- Tacit knowledge in Architectural Practice.
- Architectural Detail.
- Tracing practices.
- Ficto-criticism in Architecture.
- Architectural Education.
- Production Studies.
Laura supervises PhD and MScR students, teaches design studio and reflective practice courses, runs bespoke electives and contributes seminars across theory and design. From 2018 to 2021, she was Course Organiser for Architectural Design: Assembly (ARCH10001), redesigning and facilitating remote delivery of first year studio courses throughout lockdown. Across this time she also supervised Architecture Dissertation (ARJA10002) and contributed to the Academic Portfolio (ARCH10005) teaching team. Between 2021-2024, she was the Director of the MA (hons) Architecture, initiating, reviewing and promoting novel studio topics across Architectural Design: Explorations (ARCH10001) and Architectural Design: Tectonics (ARCH10003), adjusting learning outcomes and reframing delivery to take a clear position on the climate crisis. During this time she Course organised Architectural Practice: Reflection (ARCH10026) and Academic Portfolio (ARCH10005), aligning these courses with a reformulation of the graduate show, which now showcases graduate achievement across the full programme trajectory. She also initiated a number of cross-programme initiatives, integrating a new course Environmental Practice (ARCH08051) which is co-taught with landscape architects and introduced several new elective and core courses, including her own course On Detail (ARCH10043). In 2025 she proposed and co-authored the successful MArch validation under new ARB academic outcomes. She continues to work towards widening participation and greater access to architectural education, activating strategies to facilitate this across and between programmes. She is committed to cross pollination, complementarity and integration of our subject area specialisms, across sustainable design, interiors, urban strategies, conservation, well being, landscape and architecture. Laura has acted as Cohort Lead across years 3 and 4 and chairs the ESALA Student Staff Liaison Committee.
In 26/27 she will contribute to the following courses:
UG:
Architectural Design: In Place (ARCH08007)
Architectural Design: Tectonics (ARCH10003)
Academic Portfolio (ARCH10005)
Architectural Practice: Reflection (ARCH10026)
PG:
Studies in Contemporary Architectural Theory (ARCH11070)
Research
Research
Recent publications have been concerned with ideas of transparency in architectural pedagogy, discourse and process. This is evidenced through articles for The Journal of Architecture, Drawing Matter Journal, NPJ: Heritage Science and Inflection: Journal of the Melbourne School of Design. Her writing is featured in the online anthology 'Women writing Architecture' and has been presented nationally and internationally at conferences, panel discussions and within selective fellowships hosted by academic, professional, governmental and research bodies (London School of Architecture, Historic Environment Scotland, Built Environment Forum, Chartered Institute of Building, University College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Oslo, KU Leuven).
Laura is engaged with research networks which bridge academia and practice, including participation in a new research group focused on the implications of architectural tracing practices involving historians, paper conservators, curators, architects and researchers from Het Nieuwe Instituut, the Royal Institute of British Architects, Università di Roma, Victoria and Albert Museum, The Soane Museum, University of Cambridge, Stockholm University and Ghent University.
PhD Supervision Topics
- Architectural Education.
- Transversal Design Methodologies.
- Ficto-criticism in architecture.
- Drafting Practices.
- Feminist architectural approaches.
- Production Studies.
