High Rise
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
6:30 pm
This event has passed.
The evening opens with A Short History of the Elevator Pitch (dir. Ines Weizman, 2020), followed by:
HIGH-RISE
Ben Wheatley, 2015, 119 min
Based on J. G. Ballard’s 1975 novel
High-Rise will be screened inside Space House, one of London’s most distinctive experiments in post-war speculative architecture. Completed in 1968, the building was designed by George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners for developer Harry Hyams—the architect–developer partnership behind nearby Centre Point. Raised on monumental Y-shaped pilotis and wrapped in a precast-concrete structural façade, Space House imagined a new kind of corporate architecture for 1960s London. It remained largely empty until 1975—the same year Ballard published High-Rise. Fifty-one years later, Ballard’s dystopian tower returns to the architecture of its moment: a film about modernity, property, technology and social breakdown, screened inside a building conceived at the height of modernism’s promise.
Related images
Architecture PhD
Postgraduate Research
The Programme's Elevator Pitch!
Please view the programme's elevator pitch for an overview.
General Information
Please find information on the programme curriculum, application rounds and fees.
Apply
Please consult the Royal College of Art's application portal:
Accessibility Statement
This accessibility statement applies to pgr.rca-architecture.com. This Website is run by the Royal College of Art, whose registered office is at Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU.
The Royal College of Art is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. We have developed this Website to ensure that it is usable by as many people as possible, regardless of age, technology, device or disability. For example, this means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the Website using just a keyboard
- navigate most of the Website using speech recognition software
- listen to most of the Website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
We have also made the Website text as simple as possible to understand. This Website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. Some parts of the Website may not yet be fully accessible. For example:
- Some older PDF documents or downloadable materials may not be fully accessible to screen reader users.
- Some images may not yet have fully descriptive alternative text.
- Some embedded media may not include captions or transcripts.
- Some pages may contain minor structural issues such as heading hierarchy or link descriptions.
We are working to review and update these areas as part of our ongoing commitment to improving accessibility. If you encounter accessibility barriers on this Website, or need information in an alternative format (for example accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille), please contact us:
Royal College of Art
Email: research@rca.ac.uk
When contacting us, please include the webpage or document URL and a description of the issue so that we can assist you more effectively.
If you are not satisfied with our response to your accessibility request, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) for advice and support regarding accessibility and discrimination issues.
This statement was prepared on 6 March 2026. It was last reviewed on 6 March 2026.
The Royal College of Art website uses cookies to improve user experience, analyse website usage and ensure the website functions effectively.
When you first visit the Website, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner that allows you to accept or reject non-essential cookies. Only cookies that are strictly necessary for the operation of the Website are set automatically. All other cookies (such as analytics or performance cookies) are used only with your consent. You can change or withdraw your cookie preferences at any time through the cookie settings available on the Website. This approach ensures that the Website complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
Contact
Prof Dr Ines Weizman
Professor of History and Theory of Architecture
Head of PhD Programme
School of Architecture
Royal College of Art
Kensington Gore, London
SW7 2EU
ines.weizman@rca.ac.uk
School of Architecture, Royal College of Art
Postgraduate Research (PGR) Programme