Class of 2020
| Looking back at our last communication to all our clients, friends and colleagues is like looking back to another time. But in the midst of this challenging year, Swanbury Penglase welcomed the class of 2020 to professional practice (we acknowledged their missed graduation in a previous Sitenotes) and thought this was a good opportunity to introduce them. During the ‘Covid Crisis’ we have continued to work on a number of projects, especially those with an education focus, so we decided to ask the class of 2020 about starting their architectural career in a pandemic and what they’ve learned about education spaces as they have moved from occupying them to designing them. On starting work… Emma – I was looking forward to starting full time work, the new opportunities for learning and the routine of an office lifestyle. I was faced instead with the challenge of working from home, where your office is also your bedroom. WFH felt like being transported back 6 months when I was still at Uni; wearing trackies all day and having the bittersweet flexibility/responsibility over your own workload when you’re surrounded by distraction (and a house full of other people also working from home). I was itching to get back to the office for the lifestyle I had been looking forward to and the face to face interactions I’d missed. Fraser – Most of the Super Schools team remained in the office which I found beneficial as it brought a bit of normality to the chaos and gave us a good chance to settle into the office. All though it was eerily quiet the first couple of days, we soon got used to it. It was also great to have everyone trickle back in over time however it took a while for everyone to adjust their kitchen habits. Heloise – While starting my professional career during a pandemic has been challenging, it has also brought some positive experiences. While most worked from home, I stayed in the office and the quieter period helped me to slowly settle into new projects, surroundings, and different processes. Sam – Commencing as the pandemic was unravelling was both an exciting and unnerving time. Working from home was a learning experience for everyone, the result being I no longer felt new to the team as everyone was in a similar position, learning to work remotely in a profession that relies heavily on collaboration. I was very fortunate to start with three uni colleagues, which enabled a sense of familiarity in both a new workplace and a pandemic environment. Each week setting aside time to check-in with how we were adapting to both our new careers and the pandemic. On designing for education… Emma – Last year I thought I learnt that educational spaces aren’t always going to be used how you intended them when designing; a final year architecture studio space won’t just be used for classes, the students will find any way possible to live/sleep there. This year however, I’ve realised the extent of thought that goes into each and every design decision. So if our studio space wasn’t comfortable for sleeping in, it’s probably because the architect had the foresight to encourage students to go home and get a good night’s sleep. Fraser – I have always been someone who learns through practical experiences and I remember being taught in some ordinary learning spaces, so it is awesome to see the exposing of services to teach children about aspects of building science/mechanics. I am really looking forward to future opportunities where we can develop education briefs based off things like CSIRO findings & building science, all these practical elements that teachers can utilise when teaching about science, design, and sustainability which can help positively shape minds and create better futures for everyone. Heloise – When you are occupying a learning space as a student, you don’t spend much time thinking about how it came into being. Moving to designing these spaces it has been really interesting to see how many different aspects whether technical, design or brief related, are co-ordinated into a final product. Sam – A learning curve that I am sure everyone has had to take when moving from being in school to designing schools is that just because you have been through it doesn’t mean you were in the best spaces to learn in. Some of the things I have noted include that educational spaces should provide a connection to the outdoor environment (this is the opposite to what I had through school), the importance of well-being factors such as lighting (natural light) and how the evolution of technology assists teaching and has changed the ‘classroom’ and that in a lot of cases there is no longer a front of the room. We hope you found our newest team members comments interesting. Swanbury Penglase would love to talk with you about your next project. Please get in contact via any of the channels below. |