About EUSAS

Edinburgh University Student Architecture Society – EUSAS – is the student body for ESALA, the newly formed joint School of Architecture between the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh College of Art. Organised each year by an elected body of students, it runs a series of exhibitions and lectures that bring together both campuses in a friendly and sociable environment. The society is completely self-funded and sustained through sponsorship, membership fees and fundraising with all profits put back into the society for future events. 

The new EUSAS team for the 2011/12 academic year has taken on the society with an innovative and confident approach, redefining its role within the newly formed ESALA and forging links between students and professionals within Edinburgh’s architectural community. Links to the Edinburgh Architectural Association and the RIAS are already established and the society continues to seek out new friends and connections within the architectural community.

One of the main roles of EUSAS within the architecture school is the provision of the Friday night lecture series, held regularly in Minto House on Chambers Street where both local and international architects are invited to present their work. Typically, this is followed by an informal question and answer session and drinks, where further dialogue is encouraged. ­The lecture series is beneficial to students and professionals alike in providing insight into the work of a variety of architectural practices and thus aiding the development of a more sophisticated and grounded attitude within the design studio. Previous EUSAS lecturers include Reaich & Hall, Gareth Hoskins, DSDHA, Moxon, Peter Salter, Edward Cullinan, Benson & Forsyth, Gross Max, Charles Jencks, Konishi Gaffney, Bolles + Wilson, Ken Shuttleworth, Architects Sans Frontieres and Packman Lucas. These connections formed between the School and practices have proved fruitful for both parties.

Creating new cross-generational connections within the architectural community is a prime objective for EUSAS. Through the lecture series EUSAS aims to provide the opportunity for students of every level to network within the wider architectural community.  This is particularly beneficial students who have in recent years struggled to break into the profession as a result of the recent economic downturn and gives practitioners the opportunity to meet students, share valuable experience and develop closer ties with new graduates.

EUSAS also organises a series of Design Days and exhibitions where all years within the school are invited to take part in a creative, competitive and enjoyable event with fellow students, giving everyone the opportunity to socialise and share ideas.  Past Design Days have ranged from redesigning popular music videos to building and installing temporary wooden structures in and around Edinburgh. The outcomes for the design days, including a memorable reinterpretation of Fat Boy Slim’s “Praise (E)u(sas)”, can be viewed online on the EUSAS website.

Though EUSAS is fundamentally a society set up for the students of ESALA, lectures and design events are open to anyone who shares an interest in design. There has been a real interest in professional memberships over the past year, and we would like to continue extend our membership to involve more of the architectural community. Our main aim is to bring together individuals with a passion for architecture and the associated fields, in a welcoming environment that encourages the exchange of ideas and conversation between professionals, academics and students alike.