Deadline for Re-Set-Go applications is January 11
We Made That has launched an initiative to improve diversity in architecture by offering work placements at a number of London practices.
The Re-Set-Go programme, which has been awarded £85,000 in pilot funding by south London creative enterprise Stride, was set up in collaboration with If-Do and Gort Scott, two other female-led London practices.
Holly Lewis
It will give more than 150 individuals from under-represented backgrounds experience, skills and connections to prepare for employment in architecture practice.
The scheme will initially operate in the boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Wandsworth, offering one- or six-week work experience positions in firms that are members of the London Practice Forum, including Stirling Prize-winners Mikhail Riches and RCKa, winners of Building Design’s inaugural Social Impact award. Successful applicants will be paid the London Living Wage and be supported by zone 1-3 travel
Wealdstone Youth Workshop in London, 2018. Photograph: Thomas Adank
Words by Nisha Kurian
Here in the UK, architecture as a profession is predominantly white, male and middle class. To be anything other than this means you often feel like an outsider. In my experience this gets worse the longer you’ve been in the industry. Under-representation of BAME people and women, especially in more senior positions, is a huge issue.
The problem of a lack of diversity in architecture starts early, with the level of exposure to or interaction with the profession. If you don’t have any contact with architects in your lifetime, as the majority of people outside of our professional bubble don’t, then it may not even occur to you that a career in architecture is an option.