LEGACY CASE STUDY: LOUISE
We’ve recently completed a series of legacy case studies, delving into the long-term impact of PLACED’s early outreach programmes. These case studies involve participants who engaged with PLACED during the initial outreach efforts and have since gone on to be highly successful in their own right, and we’re proud to have played a small part in their journey. These foundational outreach programmes fostered significant engagement and growth, ultimately paving the way for the development of PLACED Academy.
Legacy Case Study with Louise Taylor, Architect at BDP.
What year(s) and specific PLACED outreach programmes did you participate in?
It was the summer school of 2011. I think that was PLACED’s first one. I then went back the following year, so I must have loved it.
What were your interests or career aspirations before participating in their PLACED outreach programmes?
At that time, I don’t think I really had any. I was into art, that was kind of how I got into the programme. I had just finished my GCSEs, so I had already picked my A levels, and I remember picking Art and English, but I didn’t really have a career aspiration at that point. I was just doing what I was into.
It was my art teacher who encouraged me. She was like, “Louise, you’re painting buildings, do you want to go to this?” And I was like, “Oh, not really”. Then I remember telling my mum about it, and she was like, “You should go, it’ll be good”. I went along to it, and I was a bit like, whoa, what is this? What is this thing called architecture? I’ve not heard about this before. And to be honest, it went from there. So I genuinely think that PLACED very much guided my career.
What were your initial expectations of the programme?
So I don’t think I had any expectations of the programme, and then it was only once it started that I took part in things like going to a site, doing some analysis. Then it kind of started to unfold, and I started to think, “Oh, this is actually what the subject matter is”.
I remember meeting Chithra Marsh from Buttress; she’s a PLACED ambassador too. I remember her there specifically, and being like, “I’m an architect”, was really memorable. Especially because she was a female. And I was like, “Wow, that’s cool”. That definitely sparked something. I think at the time, my opinion of what architects were was literally from Grand Designs. So that was definitely a really eye-opening experience and obviously something that I enjoyed. I met a couple of friends there that I actually ended up going to university with.
After researching undergraduate architecture courses at universities, I went back to PLACED’s outreach programme the following year, and I’d already put in my University application because I wanted to go to Sheffield at that point. So I went to the second summer school, knowing that that’s what I wanted to study, and went into it with a bit of a different mindset. That time around, it was more about networking and learning a bit more about skills I could take to university with me.
Can you describe your most memorable experience? During the programme with PLACED.
I remember cereal boxes and pipe cleaners being involved, and there was a lot of model-making. I have hazy memories of a park, a kind of place-making urban park situation. We did the classic thing of standing up and presenting our ideas. Which I think was one of the skills that probably started at PLACED, that continued to university and that I now use every day.
Before the summer school, I was a super, super shy and nervous teenager. So doing that programme was a big deal. And it’s a little taste of what you have to do when you study architecture at university. Constantly presenting and defending your concepts and things like that. So I think that’s probably one of the most memorable things. It’s terrifying, standing up in front of a room of people I’d never met before, but it was a really helpful experience.
What were the most valuable skills or knowledge you gained from the programme?
Probably knowledge of the industry. I suppose when you’re that young, you’re looking around buildings and you don’t really think about someone actually designing it, someone putting the structure in and what they have thought about to get to that point. So it’s probably that knowledge of the different job types and the different thinking that goes into the built environment.
Did the programme change your perception of the built environment or related professions? If so, how?
Absolutely. I’ve said this to Jo (PLACED Director) many times. I definitely wouldn’t be working as an architect now if it wasn’t for PLACED. I probably would have gone down the graphic design route and would have never even considered that I could have been something else.
Were there any particular individuals (mentors, staff, other participants) who significantly influenced your experience?
Yeah, 100% Jo.
Once I’d got my place at university, I then joined PLACED as a student ambassador, so I’d come back to Liverpool during the summers and help with the workshops they were running at the time.
And then, when I graduated, which would have been in the summer of 2016. Jo asked if I would be interested in a few months of paid work with her.After finishing Architecture school…PLACED brought me back into focus on the social value and engagement aspects of architecture, but this time at a more granular level. Jo was then my reference on the applications for the job I have now, nine years on. So, I consider Jo and PLACED to have definitely had a big impact on my career.
Did your involvement with PLACED influence your educational choices? If so, please explain.
100%. I wouldn’t be here without going to those workshops. And without the support from PLACED and from the support from Jo and the ambassadors that came along to that.
The support has ranged from writing references for me to apply for architecture jobs to providing valuable experience I could put on my CV. PLACED work was instrumental in getting me into my team at BDP when I first started.
So all the way through my career so far, PLACED and their support have been there.
Did PLACED shape your career path? Are you currently working in a field related to the built environment?
Yes, so I qualified as an architect four years ago after eight years of studying. I have now worked within BDP’s transport team for about 5 years. So I’m working on Leeds train station at the moment.
To what extent, if any, did PLACED’s outreach programme contribute to your professional development and success?
Being a PLACED Ambassador and volunteering when I was in Liverpool, and keeping up with the professional network side of PLACED has been nice.
From outreach student stuff to becoming more of a professional working within the sector. That’s really good as well. It’s twofold, as I’ve seen the benefit when I was a junior, and now that I’m a little bit more senior in my job. I can still have the benefit of being in that network.
Did your participation in the holiday programme have any impact on your personal development?
Definitely confidence, that was a big thing for sure.
Sheffield University does quite a lot of community engagement, and it’s very much embedded within the architecture course. And I suppose the work placement I did with PLACED during University was always around community projects and things like that. So they definitely connect and have a sense of purpose. PLACED are constantly thinking about the bigger picture.
In the industry, we’re sometimes very zoomed in on our projects and our deliverables, without having to think about the social gain and the social value and the masterplan. Which fits into something that PLACED has always been really keen on and pushing forward. Coming from that PLACED perspective, from the start of my experience in architecture, was something that was always front and centre, and I suppose I’ve always been able to connect with that personal interest through my entire education and into my career.
Can you explain if/how you have maintained connections with PLACED or other participants since completing the programme?
Yeah, definitely. Even from the first summer school in 2011. I was in a group where I made really good friendships. There are friends I would never have made because we were in completely different areas of the northwest. We would never have crossed paths if it wasn’t for the summer school.
So, you know, the potential friendships that you gain from this experience are brilliant. I’m also still friends with a few through LinkedIn. There are people that I come across, and I recognise their name, and I’m like “Oh, you were in PLACED’s summer school”. Those kinds of connections are still happening.
What advice would you give to somebody considering participating in the PLACED Academy programmes?
Definitely go for it. If the Academy had existed when I was young, it would have been such a cool thing to do at the time. The four-day-long summer school that I attended wasn’t enough, and they could only do so much in that limited time. So if there’d been something like the Academy back when I was looking to enter architecture at University, that would have been absolutely brilliant. What a cool thing to have on your application.
There are just so many different avenues that a career in the built environment offers, and PLACED Academy can demonstrate that very effectively. All the different job roles, disciplines, consultants and specialist roles.
Imagine if you tweak the imagination of one student who wouldn’t ever have thought about that as a career? Opportunities like that are so cool. And having that it’s such a young age as well, I think it’s brilliant.
How would you summarise the overall impact of PLACED’s outreach programme on your life and career?
It’s definitely been life-changing for me.