Students have designs on careers in architecture

Students from the University of Wolverhampton have shown they have designs on careers in architecture by putting their degree work on display at their annual show. 

A range of Undergraduate students studying Architecture and Architectural Design Technology in the School of Architecture and Built Environment, exhibited their work at the Architecture and Design End of Year Show held at the University’s Springfield Campus 

Lecturers and graduates joined their families and friends as well as representatives from Wolverhampton and District Society of Architects (WDSA), RIBA West Midlands, Birmingham Architectural Association, and local architectural practices, to view the work. 

Olive White, Programme Leader for Architecture, said: “Graduate employability is one of the key ethos and area of focus for all the courses in the School of Architecture and Built Environment. Throughout the courses, our students have the opportunity to work on real world projects, gaining first-hand experience and often engaging with an actual client, helping to create ‘work ready’ graduates.  

“These projects allow students to develop their own design responses within a context but also allow engagement in teamwork, an important part of the curriculum. Many of our ’real’ projects are located within the Black Country and associated with brownfield research, ensuring students understand the environmental imperative that we build on more suitable brownfield sites in the future.  

“Whilst these provide a local and regional focus, architecture excursions both within the UK and abroad, augment student exposure and assist in improving their abilities to analyse architectural and urban situations simultaneously.” 

This year, second-year Architecture degree students have been working with the Cosford Museum and Wolverhampton City Council on two projects including the regeneration proposals for Horsley Fields, Wolverhampton.  

Final year students from Architectural Design Technology and Architecture had the opportunity to visit Jamie's Farm in London in February and worked on their own proposals for a similar project on an adjacent brownfield site to the school. Students from the Master’s in Architecture degree worked on a variety of themes related to social justice and sustainability on a broad range of brownfield sites across the Black Country including a floating Climate Research and Community Centre in Uttoxeter Quarry. 

All students took part in VERTICAL23, a project which students across all years and courses worked together in diverse groups, producing designs for a community centre for the following local groups; Boundary Way Allotments and Wolves Play Cafe. The winners of this competition were awarded on the night.  

Dr Paul Hampton, Head of the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the University said: “This annual show is an opportunity for students to showcase all their work, the real-life projects they’ve been involved in and some of the models they’ve engaged with during their time here.   

“We were delighted to welcome families as well as employers, affording students with the opportunity to pitch to them and display their skillsets and, in many cases, it can lead to real-life opportunities for them.  We’ve got a mixture of students here from different levels so there were also valuable opportunities for them to network with each other.”