NTU Architecture Department Hosts Diversity Excellence Workshop with SPAB
NTU hosts successful Diversity Excellence workshop with SPAB, engaging students in architectural conservation.
By Antonio Cuyas | Published on 8 July 2024
The Department of Architecture at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) recently hosted a successful two-day "Diversity Excellence" workshop in conjunction with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). The event, held on Thursday 30 May and Friday 31 May 2024, brought together 16 students from NTU's Architecture and Interior Architecture undergraduate and Masters courses, along with four SPAB scholars.
The first day consisted of a site visit to the ruins of St John’s Church in Colwick, where students carried out a building survey. They worked collaboratively on drawing plans, sections, and elevations, gaining practical, hands-on experience in architectural conservation.
On the second day, students focused on creating design interventions for the church ruins, working both individually and in groups. The workshop also included presentations by SPAB scholars on a variety of topics related to historic buildings, providing students with a deeper understanding of the field.
SPAB's commitment to diversifying the profession to better reflect society was a driving force behind this workshop. The Diversity Excellence Programme, initiated last year at Birmingham City University, aims to provide students from diverse backgrounds with exposure to the field of protecting ancient buildings. NTU was eager to be involved after hearing about the success of the previous event.
The workshop offered students from diverse backgrounds a chance to experience the profession of protecting ancient buildings first-hand. The combination of on-site work and classroom activities encouraged students to interact with old buildings and consider careers in architectural conservation.
"The workshop made me realise that my passion around old buildings and culture is still there. I felt so excited learning about what they do in this field of expertise, especially from conversations with the Scholars and the inspirational presentations. I am grateful that the school did this collaboration, it impacted the participants so much, at least [for] me and my friends. Just a fun fact, on the weekend when I went to St Barnabas Church, my view towards the building became different - I noticed details that I didn't realise before."
Vivien Machmud, BArch Year 2 student
In addition, Holly Mills and Lois Woods along with four student researchers Nanfe Lar, Georgie Colebrook, Carmel Cain and Shekha Said have been investigating Collaborative Drawing as an Inclusive Practice within Architectural Education at NTU. During the SPAB workshop, data was collected by means of a focus group, survey, and researcher observation notes, and then analysed thematically. The collaborative drawing research team are currently working on a report, poster and toolkit, with the aim of embedding collaborative drawing into the architecture curriculum next year.
Due to the success of the SPAB workshop, NTU plans to collaborate again next year and host another diversity excellence workshop. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Catherine Bull the SPAB Scholarship Officer for organising the workshop along with the five SPAB scholars who facilitated the session.
Find out more about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment.