Our 2020/21 programme was like no other due to the pandemic with all mentoring online. However, there were benefits as, since no travel was involved, we enjoyed the virtual presence of new practices and mentors from beyond the East Midlands with five London based practices mentoring our region’s students.
It was also good to meet again with Naomi Yehezkel, who was a mentee in 2014, the year RIBA East Midlands piloted the scheme at the University of Lincoln. Naomi is now a full qualified architect working at Donald Insall Associates.
During this academic year, 92 BArch students were matched with 42 mentors from 27 Architecture Practices. They completed the three meetings across three months during the autumn and winter terms.
Some Chartered Practices delivered mentoring in more than one School of Architecture with different architects involved with each School. This included P1 and P2 qualified students working in the practice joining some of the sessions to share their experiences.
We are also very grateful to each School of Architecture, particularly the Year 3 course leaders, who helped us engage with their students and organise the online Meet your Mentor events whilst warmly welcoming the architect mentors on the day.
Let’s meet the RIBA student mentoring practices and mentors, starting with Loughborough University, who joined the programme for the first time this year.
Loughborough University, School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Dr Robert Schmidt III, Programme Director (BArch) Architecture
- Watson Batty - Richard Crowson
- SGP - Nita Varia, Liam Mottishaw
- Shepheard Epstein Hunter - Ana Carp
- PASTE Architects - Ben Stephens
- Marchini Curran Associates - Kevin Smith
- MAS-architecture - Muthar Al-Salloum
- A+G Architects - Alan Filby, Helen Adair
De Montfort University, Leicester School of Architecture
Neil Stacey, Associate Professor. Year 3 course leader
- Design Studio Architects - Keshiv Sudera
- Concept Zero Architects - Jon Oxley
- The Drawing Room (Leicester) - Malcolm Goodall
- Stephen George and Partners - Nita Varia, Liam Mottishaw
- Watson Batty - Richard Crowson
The University of Nottingham – Department of Architecture and Built Environment
Alisdair Russell, Assistant Professor, Year 3 studio leader
• A+G Architects - Alan Filby
• Franklin Ellis - Ria Lohse, Andy Dowding
• GSS Architecture - Tom Jagger
• YMD Boon - Steve Day
• William Saunders - Chris Dawkins
• UMC Architects - Thomas Atkinson, Mark Thomas
• CBP Architects - Chris Perkins
• Marchini Curran Associates - Andrew Bull
• Foster + Partners - Adamos Dimitriou
• Purcell - Katie McEvoy
• S2S Architects - Violeta Plitnikaite
Nottingham Trent University, Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Guillermo Garma Montiel, Principal Lecturer in Architecture and Year 3 course leader
• BE Design - Jonathan Thorn
• YMD Boon - Steve Day
• Franklin Ellis - Ria Lohse, Andy Dowding
• GT3 Architects - Matthew McCreith
• rg+ p – Enrico Mancini
Lincoln School of Architecture and the Built Environment
Doina Carter, Senior Lecturer and Year 3 course leader
- Core Architects - Sam Culling
- BE Design - Jonathan Thorn
- XL Architecture - Neil Reynolds
- Studio G - Noel Barrowclough
- Origin Design Studio - Michael Orridge
- UMC Architects – Mark Thomas
- Donald Insall Associates – Naomi Yehezkel
We’d also like to share some of the feedback we’ve received from our mentored students and mentors this year:
Mentor comments:
Mark Thomas, UMC Architects: “As an architect working at an RIBA Chartered Practice, it was enjoyable for me to offer my experiences to the students, reconnecting with the university to support the next generation of architects. I am sure that the sessions gave the students a good introduction into life in practice and the daily role of the architect. Discussions around detailing, presentation and construction no doubt have offered the students with support and guidance which will only strengthen their academic work.”
Alan Filby, A + G Architects: “As we were not able to visit any construction sites, due to the COVID-19 lockdown, another case study was presented by a different member of the practice. This was followed by a session led by one of our members of staff who had been a Part 1 student a few years ago and gave his comments and experiences of working in practice for the first time”.
Ben Stephens, Paste Architecture: “This was my first time as a student mentor and it was great! When I was a student we did not really have this opportunity, it's a huge plus for future architects to have an insight into how architectural practice works. I hope the information was valuable for the students and I'm happy to keep in touch and provide advice when possible”.
Students’ comments:
Amad Khalid, Nottingham Trent University – mentored by Matt McCreith, GT3 Architects “In the second meeting we got to explore in depth, examples of previous projects, from the initial stages to completion. They also showcased live projects and how they are managed during the current Covid-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions, which gave a good indication of how practices are working in these conditions. Furthermore, the programme also helped influence my ideas for improving my studio project, including how to manage time and organise work. Overall, it gave a great insight into the reality of working on a project and how the pandemic has affected the relationship between architects, clients, technologists etc”.
Maddie Brown, Nottingham Trent University - mentored by Ria Lohse/Andy Dowding Franklin Ellis Architects “I have really enjoyed participating in the RIBA Future Architects Mentoring Scheme in my final year of BArch (Hons) Architecture, and I’m very grateful to Franklin Ellis for taking the time to mentor me. They gave a good insight to working life in an architecture practice and their feedback on my CV and portfolio was so helpful. I feel so much more ready to enter my placement year and I would recommend the scheme highly!”
Find out more about RIBA Future Architects and email Cecilia Godoy if you would like to be involved next autumn.
