UEL students in Broadgate competition

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Published

19 August 2021

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Architecture students at the University of East London got the chance to compete to take part in paid work on the Broadgate Framework.

The Broadgate competition, now in its fourth year, allows students to work collaboratively with fellow students and alumni, creating a bridge and stair.

The brief focused on the conceptual design of a bridge between two existing buildings on the British Land and GIC-owned Broadgate Estate in the City of London.

The construction of the bridge needed to be thought about carefully as it needed to be lifted into place by a tower crane and lifted out again as and when needed.

Working as an architect requires teamwork and collaboration with a varied group of collaborators from engineers to site labourers. The art of collaborative working is a hugely important part of future work in the profession and this competition gave students the chance to put their learning into practice,"

Alex Scott-Whitby, architecture lecturer at UEL, said.

Judges looked for a design that is durable and sustainable using materials and methods of construction that use our world's resources in the most efficient ways.

Charles Horne, Project Director, Broadgate Estate, British Land, said, "British Land are delighted to support the endeavours of UEL in their education and training of young architectural students.

"The students will in turn make their contribution to the built environment and repay the commitment that UEL has shown in raising standards of architecture for the benefit of one and all.

"On a personal note, I was blown away by all students' creativity and professionalism shown during the competition and am sure I met some of the architectural stars of the future when judging the shortlisted candidates."

There were 175 students across three programmes who took part, 43 design submissions, and six shortlisted but only one team could win. The winning team comprised four students - Guy Mukulayenge, Adit Jaganathan, Jeremy Tay Eujin and Sumaya Sheikh-Ali.

Student, Guy Mukulayenge, said, "This competition was a real eye-opening experience for me, it introduced me to the fast-paced working environment of life in a practice. It was an interesting journey overall, as I was paired with a group of hard-working individuals.

"This competition allowed us to showcase our design skills. The support provided to us by UEL, was excellent. This competition challenged us to improve our computing and presentational skills in a short amount of time; this journey has given me the confidence and motivation to complete work to a high degree of quality.

Adit Jaganathan added, "The competition provided me the chance to work with other people in the industry and I had a great experience working with my teammates. The university provided us with help at every step of the way and I feel that the competition really brought out the best of us, both technically and creatively. It gave us a taste of what working in the industry would actually be like and what to expect once we start working in our respective fields."

The competition is the result of a ten-year relationship between the University of East London, British Land Plc, and Sir Robert McAlpine to give positive transformational experiences to students and recent alumni.

The opportunity is offered in partnership with Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Architects, ScottWhitbyStudio, British Land, and Sir Robert McAlpine.

In the past, this has enabled students to gain significant 'live' work experience on one of the most significant regeneration projects in Europe.

Picture credit: Osman Marfo-Gyasi

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