Over the last few months, we have been working with our neighbours, the Arts and Media School Islington. In March, we led three workshops with their DT department, where the students reimagined a disused area on their school grounds. We have since had a student join us for work experience and most recently welcomed fifteen year 10 students to Thane Studios for a careers day.

During the morning session, we shared our personal experiences of the architecture profession and why we decided to study it. It was fun to share the diverse ways we have approached the profession and explore its interdisciplinary nature. We also explored how the students already engage with architecture. This varied from using Minecraft, drawing, working on design briefs in their DT class, and one student even builds equipment in his bedroom!

The students had the opportunity to study 3D printed models, try out a virtual reality headset and use our augmented reality iPad.

In the afternoon, the students were given the design brief for the Down Lane Park masterplan and had 10 minutes to brainstorm their approach before learning about the actual design. They also had to create what they felt was the best layout for the hub building. Their suggestions and ideas were thoughtful and well-reasoned, and we couldn’t help but feel that the Down Lane Park team may have some competition!

Overall, the day was really rewarding, and we really enjoyed welcoming our neighbours into the studio. You can see AMSI’s post online here.

A huge thank you to AMSI for coming and to everyone at LB who helped make the day so fun.