Manchester Metropolitan University has appointed Michael Ramage as Professor of Architecture and Engineering at the Manchester School of Architecture, strengthening the School’s research leadership in sustainable construction and bio-based materials.
Professor Ramage joins MSA from the University of Cambridge, where he has been a member of the Department of Architecture since 2006, serving most recently as Professor of Architecture and Engineering, founding Director of the Centre for Natural Material Innovation, and Fellow of Sidney Sussex College. His research programme spans the full range of natural and bio-based building materials, from timber, bamboo, and hemp to earthen masonry, and from materials science to the scale of buildings and neighbourhoods.
Professor Ramage is a licensed structural engineer trained in architecture at MIT and formed in practice at Conzett Bronzini Gartmann in Switzerland. He holds a PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of Cambridge. He studied geology and archaeology as an undergraduate, which continues to shape his understanding of materials, landscapes and the long history of construction. He works at the intersection of architecture, engineering and materials science. His Super Tall Timber research established a rigorous technical basis for tall timber buildings. His built work, including the Mapungubwe Interpretive Centre in South Africa, winner of the World Architecture Festival’s World Building of the Year award, demonstrates what structural ambition and natural materials can achieve together.
At MSA, he will lead the Centre for Natural Material Innovation, which he founded at Cambridge and which relocates to MSA with his appointment. Professor Ramage will continue to develop his research programme, Growing the Future, connecting forest management, materials science, construction and communities to realise nature-based neighbourhoods. He argues that bio-based construction is neither niche nor compromise. Instead, it is one of the most credible paths to a low-carbon, resilient and socially grounded built environment.
Professor Ramage said:
“I’m delighted to join MSA at a time when we are demonstrating what design and natural materials can do for our cities, addressing the climate emergency, social justice, and restoring our natural world. I am excited to work with exceptional new colleagues and students on the challenges we can tackle by designing and building with materials we can grow.”
Alongside his research, Professor Ramage brings extensive teaching experience. At Cambridge he taught structural design and architectural engineering to architecture and engineering students for nearly two decades, developing research-informed design and technology teaching that consistently drew on live projects and built work. He led the development of the Design Tripos, a new interdisciplinary undergraduate degree bringing together architecture, engineering and materials science, and has supervised doctoral students and postdoctoral colleagues across a range of natural materials research programmes. At MSA, he will bring that same commitment to research-led teaching into the School’s studio and technologies curriculum, working with students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Professor Kevin Singh, Head of Manchester School of Architecture, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Professor Michael Ramage to Manchester School of Architecture. Michael’s track record in research, built practice, and international leadership is exceptional, and his appointment represents a significant strengthening of MSA’s research profile in sustainable construction and natural materials. His work bridges materials science, engineering, and architecture in a way that is genuinely rare, and we look forward to the new research programme he will develop here and the contribution he will make to our students, our doctoral community, and to the field.”
Manchester School of Architecture is a collaboration between Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Manchester and is consistently ranked among the leading schools of architecture in the UK and internationally. Professor Ramage’s appointment further strengthens the School’s ambition to deliver impactful, world-leading teaching and research in the service of a more sustainable built environment.