Work experience student embraces the brief “Design a house for a hero”!
We recognise the importance of developing future talent and we are keen to support those showing an interest in the world of architecture. This week we were delighted to welcome a student from The Ilfracombe Academy to join us for the week in our design studios, spending time with our architectural team.
“We recognise that it’s not easy walking into an established place of work for a young person, not knowing anyone or knowing what will be expected of them” explained PMA’s Dan Huxtable.
“We’ve found that over the years our work experience visitors like to be kept busy and given a task which they can focus on. This week’s brief was “Design a house for a hero”. It’s interesting how each student approaches this differently, a great opportunity to highlight their skills, inevitably triggering their imagination and creativity”. Dan Huxtable continued “The skills required to fulfil this commission encompasses the widest range, from the initial concept, assessing the practical needs of a home all blended with a creative approach. We were so impressed how they embraced the task this week and their willingness to reach out to various team members for advice and guidance.“
“Illustrating their initial ideas required natural drawing skills and then adopting an effective post-it-note approach, they started the more detailed design, using our latest top of the range MAC Studio. Their natural intuitive approach immediately embraced the software’s design features, despite never having used a MAC previously.”
The approach needed to meet this brief is actually not dissimilar to a real project, so it gives a valuable insight into our world. The week is finished off with the presenting their project to our team, a useful transferable skill irrespective of their chosen career.
PMA is a strong advocate of the apprentice approach as a route into the architectural profession with our latest new recruit joining us next month from Great Torrington School. They visited us in the summer of 2023 and for another week earlier this year, which sealed their keenness for a career in architecture.