This student came to us around six months before her deadlines. Her top choice school was between the Bartlett and Cambridge, and she was accepted to both for their undergraduate programs (BSc/BA Architecture). This is a short portfolio, only ten pages in length, but it’s a good example of the kind of work that does well with architecture admissions. The work strikes a good balance between 2D and 3D (painting, drawing and sculpture), and also gives us a good idea of her personal background, skills and creative interests.
Full transcript
This post reviews a successful architecture portfolio accepted for the undergraduate BA Architecture course at Cambridge University, which is an RIBA Part I program. The student who produced this portfolio also applied to several other schools, including the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL for their three-year BSc Architecture degree. Both programs are equivalent in level, though one grants a BA and the other a BSc.
The applicant received offers from both Cambridge and the Bartlett, among other places. She applied for 2025 entry, which makes this portfolio a recent example. Many students researching these programs will have seen the specific portfolio guidelines listed on their websites. The Bartlett has recently asked for portfolios no longer than ten pages, which are then used during the interview. Sometimes the interviewer shares the screen to review the portfolio, while other times the applicant presents it. Cambridge has typically allowed a longer portfolio, though requirements can vary by year. In this case, the student chose to keep her portfolio to ten pages to align with the Bartlett’s expectations, which made it suitable for both applications. The differences between the two programs are not great enough to require entirely separate portfolios.
Her preparation began about six months before the application deadlines. This provided enough time to understand her skills, interests, and existing work while also allowing her to develop new projects that could strengthen the portfolio. The result was a cohesive and well-structured submission that reflected both her technical ability and creative insights.
The cover page
The portfolio begins with a simple, clear cover page. A small contents box in the bottom left lists the projects included. The applicant’s name has been redacted here, but in the submitted version it appeared alongside the title “Cambridge Portfolio, BA Architecture.” If this were being refined further, it might be more accurate to write “Portfolio for Cambridge BA Architecture 2025 Entry.” The reason is that the original phrasing could be mistaken for a collection of work completed at Cambridge rather than an application to the program.
The cover image on the right is a quick sketch, not a standalone piece requiring detailed explanation. It sets the tone by indicating that this is an architecture portfolio. The drawing appears to show a section through a canal with a boat and a bridge. This connects later to a project about the Regent’s Canal in London, completed during the applicant’s summer school at the Bartlett.
Starting strong
The first page presents two large paintings of hands. Beginning with strong work is essential because admissions reviewers at places like Cambridge and the Bartlett go through hundreds of portfolios each cycle. The Bartlett, for instance, accepts around 120 students from roughly 1,500 portfolios. Reviewers are often pressed for time, so clarity and quality at the start help them engage immediately.
The layout establishes clear hierarchy. The two paintings dominate the right-hand side, with smaller concept sketches on the top left. A text box below provides a short description and title, explaining that the project explores the physical world, emotional expression, and the sense of touch. These are all ideas relevant to architecture. The project succeeds because it focuses on architectural themes rather than building design. Admissions panels are not looking for fully designed buildings from applicants. They prefer to see curiosity about architectural ideas such as representation, materiality, and perception.
The reference to touch and physicality recalls the work of architects such as Peter Zumthor, who explores sensory experience and texture in architecture. Even Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, often known for its iconic form, is primarily a study in texture and material.
Drawing
The next page continues the same project. It shows a detailed drawing of a hand over a duvet, based on a photograph. Drawing directly from photographs is usually discouraged because it reproduces the image rather than capturing observation. However, in this case the student used the photo as a starting point to enhance the materiality of the subject. The skin appears more tactile than in the original image, and the fabric feels softer. The drawing transforms the photo into something more vivid and sensory.
This quality recalls early surrealist painting, where artists sought to make works “more real than reality” rather than purely dreamlike. Even without that historical reference, the page succeeds because the drawing communicates texture, light, and atmosphere without needing lengthy explanation.
Sculpture
The third project shifts medium from painting to sculpture, which demonstrates range. Admissions reviewers often flip quickly through portfolios, sometimes in under a minute, so variety helps maintain engagement.
This project examines ideas of beauty, imperfection, and flaws. Making a project explicitly about flaws is powerful because it shows the applicant’s openness and willingness to question her own process. Tutors are drawn to students who approach design as inquiry rather than static perfection.
The layout includes both a small axonometric drawing and photographs of the developing model. Showing progression from idea to material outcome is important, and keeping earlier sketches helps communicate that evolution. The following page presents the sculptural work in its more resolved form. It does not need to be described as “final,” since design work is always in progress, but it stands as a completed stage of exploration.
Context and identity
Midway through the portfolio, the focus turns to the student’s background in Paris. These paintings and drawings are based on her experiences in the city and offer a glimpse into her visual world. This personal connection is valuable because admissions panels want to know who the applicant is, not just what they can draw.
Although some pieces are based on photographs, they are not direct copies. The photographs serve as compositional studies, while the paintings focus on light. This distinction shows awareness of process. The inclusion of smaller developmental sketches at the top of the page reinforces the sense of thought and progression.
Observational work
The next project studies Haussmann architecture in Paris. It is one of the few explicitly architectural projects in the portfolio but remains rooted in observation rather than design. The paintings and drawings capture structure, rhythm, and proportion, and the physical folding of the painted paper mirrors the experience of moving through a city. The work demonstrates an understanding of how medium and subject can interact, which is central to architectural representation.
The continuation of this project develops into detailed drawings of masonry and relief work. By reconstructing a small fragment of the built environment, the student translates observation into making.
Light
Another project explores light refraction through photography and model making. The sequence begins with photographs of light conditions throughout the day, moves to experiments with crystals, and ends with a constructed cardboard object that embeds the refracted light within its form. This project shows curiosity about space, material, and perception, which is precisely what schools look for.
Summer school and group work
The final projects come from the student’s participation in the Bartlett Summer School. Attending such programs signals to admissions panels that an applicant understands what architectural study involves and is motivated to pursue it further. This experience demonstrates commitment and awareness of the field.
Group work can make authorship harder to identify, so it helps to include close-up photographs of individual contributions. Even so, the project here succeeds in showing collaborative design and construction, skills that translate well to architectural education.
Final pages
The last page gathers several smaller pieces: observational drawings, a graphic design poster, and documentation of the summer school. The final pages do not need to be project-based; they can simply show other examples of skill and visual thinking.