Building links with local Architecture students

We are always keen to nurture links with the wider community wherever we can, and for a few years now, the spring semester at Nottingham Trent University has seen our Senior Engineer, Matt Koren, advising architecture students on structural elements of their final year projects. This came about after the University contacted Matt to see if there was a way that the informal advice he had given his brother could be of benefit to other students too.

Even though Matt’s input has had to move online this year, the first stage of his involvement is a lecture about the basics of structural engineering, including useful tips and potential pitfalls to look out for when designing a building. He then participates in the students’ tutorial days to advise on their developing projects, looking at structural form and section size and detail. This helps them make their projects more ‘buildable’ and highlights the structural constraints of constructing ‘real life’ buildings.

This collaboration with NTU has reaped great rewards – the architecture students have benefitted from seeing their projects through the eyes of an experienced structural engineer and Matt himself feels his conceptual design skills have been improved, especially when he has to ‘think on his feet’ when faced with a complex design. He says ‘the whole experience has been really valuable and has given me a greater appreciation of the thought processes in architectural design’.