Working with SYHA on a Sheffield School of Architecture Live Project with a team of 15 students at the beginning of the year, we wanted to continue working with them, and the OnCampus Placements were a good way of sustaining a relationship between the Department and the Sheffield Housing Conversations, to continue the work we had been doing during the Live Project. Two placements were created.
We created the placements as part of the Live Project.
Our main responsibilities were the research of Kelham Island as an area within Sheffield, which led us on to understanding the current amenity provision in the area and how this could be improved.
Looking at secondary research to influence our primary research of amenity provision within the area, and discussing this with Kelham Island residents.
Continuing something we had been previously working on instead of stopping the work we had been doing.
Collaborative working: During the placement, I worked alongside another Architecture student. Working as a pair meant organising time and managing expectations between us, as well as working as a joint venture between the University and South Yorkshire Housing Association, and within each of these different departments and people. This meant there was a certain aspect of balancing aspects of academia and practice. This built on and strengthened my existing experience of working on an interdisciplinary project.Communication: Communication was important within the placement, given the number of different people and organisations involved at different stages. As students, we used many different forms of communication (email, in person, graphical, surveys) to research and gather information. The ways we communicated information was important to people those not in the architectural profession. We organised meetings which we then led and followed up with information afterwards. Another important aspect was dialogue with residents of Kelham Island for research purposes.Design skills: During the placement I have developed my design skills, building on the knowledge learnt through academia and practice to communicate ideas to real-life clients, balancing demands, expectations and aspiration. Having a client who is part of the design process is an aspect which is usually missing within University design projects. Because of this, the way we spoke about and presented our ideas became more important, with a focus on research as a way to build our initial design direction.
Form completed: 04 Jul 2018