Ben Couture

Assistant Professor

School: Architecture and Built Environment

Ben is Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture & the Built Environment at Northumbria University and Fellow HEA. He is an active designer, researcher and maker with specialisms in spatial/furniture design, exhibition-making and modular construction. He has a broad range of design work with an extensive portfolio of realised projects.

Prior to joining Northumbria in 2020, Ben founded Jardine Couture Ltd, which operated for 15 years in the UK and Europe providing design and production for furniture and spatial projects. The company undertook work with national museums and numerous blue chip organisations.

Ben also worked as a Director and founder of Sawhorse Ltd (2010-2024) creating modular buildings and studios based on the innovative 3rdSpace Modular system. Their work has been featured in media including Wall Street Journal & Elle Decoration and print publications by Thames & Hudson and RIBA Publications.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Ben’s research interests centre around design in the built environment; covering digital & spatial exhibition environments, intersections of art & architectural space, and modular construction. An ongoing series of curator interviews and exhibition reviews are documented on website archxclimate.com

Recently a series of group exhibitions and engagement projects have been set up between Northumbria schools of Architecture and Design, and cultural institution English Heritage.

As a practicing designer with a broad portfolio of realised works, his research specialisms draw upon practice-based methodologies. Work has been included in a number of online and print publications, including Dezeen and numerous social platforms. A selection of realised work is presented on bencouture.studio

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Design and Making in Heritage Settings: The Role of the Polytemporal as a Means to Bridge Past, Present and Future in Contemporary Design Practice, Forsyth, A., Couture, B. 1 Dec 2025, In: PAD: Pages on Art and Design
Material and Memory: Exhibition at Brinkburn Manor, Couture, B., Forsyth, A. 10 Jul 2024
ArchxClimate.com: Exhibition reviews and reports examining how cultural institutions and architectural venues demonstrate the vital role of architecture in response to the climate crisis., Couture, B. 15 Feb 2023

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Oral presentation: Designing the Exhibition as Architectural Laboratory: Towards Material Literacy and Low-Carbon Spatial Practice 2026
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: Make and Mend Studio 2025
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Practice: Interior Educators International Conference 2024 2024
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: Royal Academy of Art Summer Exhibition 2022 2022

Qualifications

Architecture BA (Hons) June 30 2004

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