Our Key to Architecture programme brings together the wide range of opportunities we have continually offered to young people over the past 10 years, aiming to champion diversity in architecture and design by supporting young people access careers in the built environment.
Included in this programme is an extensive range of residencies, internships, work experience placements, mentoring & career guidance, site and studio visits, regular updates and signposting on job and training opportunities within our wider network, and free workshops to school pupils, university students and graduates interested in careers in architecture, including those from the communities we work in.
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The Drawing Residency
The Drawing Residency is an annual programme offering space and support to one undergraduate or postgraduate student interested in expanding hand drawing skills. The residency acts to support any ongoing academic and study projects where drawing is being used as a tool for the expression of ideas in a public or civically engaged design project. Drawing for us means marks made by the hand, whether that be sketching, details, or technical plans – and everything in between and beyond.
Residents are offered a dedicated desk space within our studio and mentoring from the studio’s team of architects and offers a small renumeration to cover material and travel costs. The programme begins every January and lasts six months, intended to run in tandem with the Spring and Summer terms of the university year.
The Drawing School
This is a free-to-access drawing course that happens twice a year for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in separate cohorts. Based in our studio, the course is taught by various members of our architectural team, led by Andrew Hopper and Morgan MacGregor. The course seeks to supplement traditional architectural learning; by focussing on a unique brief for a housing project, students develop both conceptual and technical designs all expressed through hand drawing.
Every student completes the course by presenting their designs back to the cohort and members of the Karakusevic Carson Architects team. Key objectives are to hone hand drawings skills, gain a historical understanding of the evolution of housing design through drawn materials, understand the key building regulations that inform housing design, and to learn how to develop designs through workshops, collaboration and 1:1 sessions and to improve communication and presentation skills.
Work Experience
We regularly host young people of all educational levels here in our studio, where students are exposed to the professional workplace whilst being guided through a design brief tailored to their interest, academic level, and ambition, with outputs being ideal for university or job application portfolios. Whether it be their first time visiting an office, honing their design testing and presentation skills, or understanding more about current regulations and approaches to local policy, we support students at every stage of their architectural education and build lasting relationships with individuals and educational providers across London.
CV & Portfolio Workshops
These workshops give students the opportunity to have 1:1 feedback from recent graduates and qualified architects on application material for job and university interviews. These sessions allow students to practice presenting their work, helping to build confidence and presentation skills as well as fostering new networks amongst students and with the studio.
