Journal

With a portfolio dominatedby public sector projects, we are increasingly engaged in procurement processes that require detailed and costed strategies for supporting and adding social value. Highest social value contribution measured in cold, hard cash gets the most points. Simple. The problem is that like so much of the procurement process, there is the risk that these exercises end up being distilled down to a box-ticking exercise despite being founded upon good intentions.

At Bell Phillips we’ve been thinking about how we can have a more direct and fundamental impact on social value, not just through the nature of our work, but also how we operate as a practice. Much of the work we undertake is within financially deprived but socially and culturally diverse areas and this has led us to consider more deeply the discrepancy between these places and the lack of diversity within our own office and the profession at large.

As you read this, perhaps while sitting at your desk nibbling at a sandwich over lunch, look around you. The chances are that you and your colleagues are white, middle-class and more likely to be male than female. In other words, unrepresentative of society as a whole. The architectural profession has always been the largely exclusive territory of the middle class, but the introduction of tuition fees, combined with the length of course is compounding this differential. This is a disaster for the industry. In order to have a profession that is vibrant, smart and relevant we need to make sure it is made up of people from all sectors of society.

However, there is only so much that we can do to affect the mix of our own office unless diversity across the whole industry changes. For that to happen architectural education must become more financially and culturally accessible. For many young people, architecture isn’t on their horizon as a career path let alone being financially viable. Five years at University minimum, at a cost of £9,000 each year on top of living expenses, rent and the costs of modelmaking, printing etc puts a hefty financial burden on even the most well-healed student.

We have directly witnessed the effects that the pressures of the course can have on individuals. It is a travesty to see talented graduates feeling unable to return to complete their Part II courses for financial reasons. It is a serious indictment of our profession if talented graduates feel ‘priced-out’.

A few years ago, we started to think about how we could do our part to introduce kids from lower income backgrounds to the profession. We decided to stop providing work experience to the children of our (middle-class) friends and the classmates of our (middle-class) children. Instead, we have established ongoing relationships with local schools in Tower Hamlets to provide work placement opportunities within our office. In addition to this we have started an outreach programme whereby we undertake talks or workshops with local schoolchildren to posit the idea that architecture might be a viable career path. We have also signed up to the Access Aspiration Employability Programme run by the GLA as part of our commitment to the Mayor’s Diversity Pledge. We have made a commitment to have a least one apprentice each year. In addition to this we are currently in conversation with Universities to explore the possibility of offering Part I apprenticeships.

It is clear that we are not going to be able to make the architectural profession representative of broader society unless we change the nature of architectural education to lighten the financial burden on students. Institutions such as London School of Architecture are already offering an alternative template and several Universities are looking to adapt their educational models, but perhaps more radical possibilities should be considered. Should Part II be scrapped, for example, in lieu of work-based study? Whichever route we take, it’s important that the profession is open to a wider pool of people, especially those who may not currently see architecture as a career. It is only by doing this that we can maintain a vibrant, relevant industry that speaks to society at large.

https://www.bdonline.co.uk/briefing/we-can-all-do-our-bit-to-diversify-the-profession/5103594.article