The RIBA has described us as not just a school
of architecture, but a school for architects
and I think that's really exemplified in the
focus on making buildings in this school,
on real buildings, on real sites, so that
we think about how buildings are made, who they're for and where they are.
I've very much enjoyed my time here. The school
has been a wonderful place to study for so
many years. I've learnt so much from both
tutors and students alike and throughout my
time I feel like I've been able to produce
some great work that will hopefully lead onto
a good career.
We have students on the course from all over
the world. They're different ages, they're
different academic and professional backgrounds.
They all bring something really important.
We have an electrician on the course, a bricklayer
on the course: two students who have a background
working on building sites and really wanted
to get involved in the design of architecture.
There's also a social aspect to this practice.
Students are often engaging with real-life
clients and situations and demands of the
projects coming from schools and communities,
and so there's a social engagement there that
runs all the way through the course. It runs
through projects, it runs through our attitudes.
I really enjoyed my time on the BA course
at Kingston and I found that the scale of
projects were really interesting and the projects
I worked on through my first and third year,
were very well situated in a wider conversation
about how architecture is used by the community
and how it engages with the social concepts
of architecture. I also found the themes being
generated were very interesting and very relevant.
For instance, in my first year, we looked
at high streets in London and then in the
following year we were interested in the legacy
of the Olympics and also in the third year,
looking at Unesco World Heritage. All these
three agendas were really well situated and
current topics and understanding of architecture
and I found that that was also really helpful
in making sure that my education was grounded and relevant.
Why I like Kingston is the main thesis of
the whole uni is thinking through making,
not only architecture; product design, illustration,
animation. There were things with loads of
different aspects.
I chose Kingston, I think through they have
amazing workshops,
a really great studio culture.
Everyone's so friendly, I don't think I could have done it without everyone around me, like all the other students. It was so much fun.
You get support from others as well, I think.
I think once you get stuck on something, that's
it, you're stuck on something, like you ask
your colleagues, you ask your friends to help
you out.
