Nichola Barrington-Leach is an architect, educator and founder of NVBL Architects, a London-based architecture and design studio. She is the Unit Tutor of Intermediate 15 at the AA. Nichola earned a Joint Honours BA in Fine Art and History of Art before completing her architectural training at the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) and the AA. She has experience leading architectural practices both locally and internationally, and actively contributes to academic discourse as a lecturer and critic at leading institutions. Founded in 2014, her practice, NVBL, specialises in designing environmentally conscious spaces and objects, blending traditional techniques with innovative, research-driven solutions. In 2023, Nichola was awarded the Royal Academy of Arts Residency and in 2024 recognised as a RIBA Rising star. Her work has been widely exhibited and published, including at the Royal Academy of Arts, the London Festival of Architecture, Clerkenwell Design Week, the Venice Biennale and the Guangzhou Triennial.

Development and Experimentation: Participants will explore concept design, material testing and prototyping through workshops on plant fibres, willow weaving and natural knotting techniques, supported by discussions on sustainable construction.

Construction and Installation: The group will collaboratively design, build and install a full-scale installation. The programme concludes with a presentation of the work at the Architectural Association, attended by invited guests.

• £795 - Full fee including one year AA Digital Membership.
• £735 - Existing AA Members.
• £588 - AA full-time Students.
• £685 - Melbourne University Students including one year AA Digital Membership.
   
• £60 - Non-refundable deposit required from all applicants. This amount will be deducted from the total fees listed above.

Note: Fees do not include flights, accommodation or study trip expenses.