Professor Richard Koeck Dipl.-Ing. (FH), M.Phil. (Cantab), Ph.D. (Cantab)

Personal Statement

Richard Koeck is Professor and Chair in Architecture and the Visual Arts at the University of Liverpool and Director of the Centre for Architecture and the Visual Arts | CAVA. He holds a professional degree in Architecture (Germany) and two postgraduate degrees in Architecture and the Moving Image (UK).

Following on from his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, he joined the University of Liverpool in 2006, where I since held several leadership positions. He has been director of CAVA for more than ten years (since 2008), Director of Postgraduate Research (2012-14) and Associate Dean / Head of Research & Impact (2014-17) of the School of the Arts, where he was responsible for the strategic and operational research leadership of five departments.

Richard’s research is situated in Architecture and Design theory and practice, where he provides insight into, and defines new ways of thinking about the representation of and engagement with architectural and urban forms, narratives and creative design practices. His research combines three principle interlocking knowledge domains: space, media and people. Within this wide field, he is known for providing insight into future design of spaces, buildings and cities – through the study of physical space as well as mediated through, e.g. visual arts (e.g. film, animation), digital and locative media (e.g. AR/VR/digital screens) as well as information and artificial intelligence systems.

Richard's research covers a range of topics, including architectural and urban design, digital heritage, urban advertising, and placemaking projects. He uses a combination of analogue and digital techniques, such as digital film, 3D and holographic capture, digital databases and mapping, and spatial and immersive media, which are often funded by UKRI or Innovate UK. His current research and practice focus on immersive spaces, from a critical and practical perspective, with links to industry.

He is the author of journal papers and book chapters; co-editor of several books, including Cities in Film: Architecture, Urban Space and the Moving Image (2008), The City and the Moving Image (2010), Cinematic Urban Geographies (2017); and author of monographs such as Cine|Scapes: Cinematic Spaces in Architecture and Cities (Routledge, 2012) and Inhabiting the Image of the City (Routledge, forthcoming). Richard frequently gives invited talks and keynotes around the world (e.g. AA/London, ETH/Zürich, SIT & NUS/Singapore, Global Cities Forum/Shanghai; Bibliothèque Nationale de France). He is also founding Director of the Digital Film & Media Production company CineTecture (Liverpool)

Prizes or Honours

• Research Grant, 'A Quantitative Study of the Narrative System in Historic Urban Environments' (National Natural Science Foundation of China, 2012)
• Research Grant, 'Digital Archive Fund'. (North West Vison and Media/UK Film Council, 2009)
• Allen, Meek and Read Award (University of Cambridge, 2004)
• Allen, Meek and Read Award (University of Cambridge, 2002)

Funded Fellowships