It is well known that the architecture industry is continually under representative of POC, and those from ethnic minority backgrounds. As the most recent RIBA Educational statistics (2021-22) show, 42% of new entrants at Part 1 are POC students, meanwhile less than 20% of students who pass their Part 3 are POC. [1] These figures show us that there are many POC students entering the profession, however, at each stage of the architectural career—Part 1, Part 2 and 3—POC are being driven out.

I wanted to understand why this happens especially after dedicating 5+ years in education. Informed by my own experiences in architecture and through interviews with students of colour and leading POC architects, I decided to delve into this topic through my Part 2 dissertation. This examined the barriers between Part 2 and qualification, the stage where the drop off rate of POC students is proportionally the largest.

As part of my research, I found that both facets in the traditional route of architecture; practice, and education, are intertwined and contribute. In education, this can be due to: ‘crit’ culture, overworking, an often ‘Eurocentric’ curriculum and lack of representation in the staff body. In practice, this can be the result of: meritocratic beliefs, reliance on informal and personal networks for recruitment, lack of representation, and even structural racism.

The barriers POC students face can be particularly prevalent in the gap between university and practice. Here, students can be detached from the mental and pastoral support and exposed to structural racism sometimes present in the job market. The GLA Supporting Diversity Handbook identifies that the industry places too much importance on recruiting through informal networks—hiring through word of mouth, friend and family recommendations, etc. This can widen disparities for POC, underrepresented individuals, and those from lower-socioeconomic backgrounds who lack exposure to these networks.[2]

Thankfully, several organisations are undertaking crucial work to dismantle some of these barriers, notably: Built by Us, Black Females in Architecture, POC in Architecture, and Narrative Practice.

Narrative Practice

We recently had the opportunity to host one of Narrative Practice’s award-winning mentoring Sessions at our office in London.

The not-for-profit mentoring and research platform creates a space for POC and underrepresented individuals to network and share their experiences. Its main objective is to improve representation within the profession. Founded in Lockdown by Dhruv Gulabchande, who was recently recognised as an RIBA 2024 Rising Star, the initiative has reached over 700 young people.

Sessions is Narrative Practice’s primary programme, which offers short to long term mentorship and connects underrepresented people with members of established practices. The organisation’s long-term mentors are all volunteers, with Dhruv thoughtfully organising the events to ensure mentors and mentees are suitably paired with appropriate skill, expertise, and need.

The successful event gathered over 40 young professional mentees and about 15 mentors from Levitt Bernstein and other practices. I was impressed by the personal and intimate nature of the event, which was carefully orchestrated by Elena Šležaitė, Parisa Shahnooshi and Dhruv, playing conductor, directing us ahead of our session for our next mentee’s exact needs for the evening. Sessions are also supported and shadowed by Shazia Dhalla, a mentee interested in event organisation.

Each mentor was paired with at least one other mentor, coordinated to help three mentees throughout the evening. This allowed mentees to receive multiple perspectives for the same issues they were facing. It also gave opportunity for reverse mentoring, and, for mentors to also make connections with one another. The office tours and breakout areas served as networking spaces to mingle and enjoy refreshments.

The evening was truly rewarding but also illustrated how far our profession and industry have still to travel. Hearing mentees experiences of unemployment whilst also looking at excellent CVs and portfolios can be hard to bear. However, it does shed a light into the impact leading organisations such as Narrative Practice can make. It fosters hope, that there are people willing to spend their time, share knowledge and connections to guide people who may not be able to access this support elsewhere, and to stand out in an already tough economic market.

The CABE report of 2004 revealed that this period between education and practice is crucial for students of colour in determining whether they would drop out or continue in their architectural training. This is largely due to discrimination faced in the recruitment process or within the workplace itself. [3]

The work Narrative Practice is doing to break down some of these barriers is commendable. Mentoring is no easy feat, each conversation is a responsibility to bear witness to mentees’ experiences, to validate them and support them in their journey. The session ended with a strong feeling of hope and motivation, running over the expected time—which proves testament to the success and energy of everyone involved. Mentors and mentees continued sharing stories, LinkedIn connections, experiences, and food.

We are looking forward to hosting Sessions again at our Manchester office in the coming weeks!