Leeds (UK) 2017
This project was a collaboration with the university as the client. The project had three distinct stages, a design brief produced by BA2 students on work placement with Project Office (https://leedsbeckett.wixsite.com/projectoffice), an alumni competition followed by design development with the winning alumni team employed through Project Office as consultants. In the design guide stage, competitors were tasked to design a building, approximately 200m2, housing a laboratory with an environmental chamber installed for climatic testing of building materials. Project Office was appointed by the university to initiate and manage the alumni competition. This included the design guide brief supported by a document describing the competition’s rules as well as the timetable and submission requirements. In the design development phase architecture design was led by alumni consultants to support the RIBA Work Stage 2 design report.
Phase 1. Design Guide
Client: Leeds Beckett University; Professor Mohammad Dastbaz, Dean of Art, Architecture and Technology Faculty. Leeds Sustainability Institute; Professor Chris Gorse. LBU Enterprise; Janet Mulcrone.
Tutors: Leeds Beckett University Landscape Architecture staff; Trudi Entwistle, Steve Heywood, Jo Jolley & Emma Oldroyd.
Project Office: Simon Warren, Craig Stott & Graham Davey.
Students: Work Placement; Jamil Dossa, Adam Maqsood, Razan Ismail, Alex Spencer & Will Phuc Ton.
Phase 2. Alumni Competition
Client: Leeds Beckett University; Professor Mohammad Dastbaz, Dean of Art, Architecture and Technology Faculty. Leeds Sustainability Institute; Professor Chris Gorse. LBU Enterprise; Janet Mulcrone.
Tutors: Project Office: Simon Warren, Craig Stott & Graham Davey.
Steering Group: Suzanne Richardson, Chris Gorse, Janet Mulcrone, Andy Best, Kate Edwards, Simon Warren & Craig Stott.
Alumni: Matt Shepherd, Andrew Lewthwaite, Genenan Antoine, Andrea Ghirawoo, Joe Morizzo, Antonia Frondella, Rachael Branton, Steve McCloy, Bo Muchemwa, Gareth Roberts, Nick Wright, Danny Wallace, Martin Bradley, Joe Earley, Ashley Ball, Nick Tyrer, Tom Lamping, Tono Rodriguez, Richard Hawkins, Mohammed Vachhiyat, Edward Shallcross & Richard Woods.
Phase 3. Design Development
Client: Leeds Beckett University; Professor Mohammad Dastbaz, Dean of Art, Architecture and Technology Faculty. Leeds Sustainability Institute; Professor Chris Gorse. LBU Enterprise; Janet Mulcrone.
End user: Leeds Beckett University Landscape Architecture; Trudi Entwistle, Steve Heywood, Jo Jolley & Emma Oldroyd.
Tutors: Project Office: Simon Warren, Craig Stott & Graham Davey.
Steering group: Suzanne Richardson, Chris Gorse, Janet Mulcrone, Andy Best, Kate Edwards, Simon Warren & Craig Stott.
Other facilitators: Consultant team: LEDA; Jim Wild. Mason Clark; Gez Pegram & Anca Butnaru. SUM; Chris Hale & Andrew Schmidt. AGM Safety Ltd; Adrian Marsden.
Alumni consultants (winning team): Gareth Roberts, Nick Wright & Danny Wallace.
Research Question
How to deliver RIBA work stages through alternative procurement methods.
This project is an example of how Project Office is able to devise and manage a complex procurement route of an orthodox design commission to the benefit of all participants and their education. The first part was traditional architecture consultancy, Project Office produced a quick desktop study to substantiate the project’s financial viability. The second part of the project was an extra-curricular work placement programme to produce a design guide (brief). The third to design, organise and manage an alumni architecture competition. The final part was to provide architectural consultancy up to RIBA Stage 2 working alongside three ex-students employed as design consultants. We have termed this creative method of working as ‘situated learning agility’, it is a new way of understanding and theorising the role of Live Project educators.
Link: Project Office
United Kingdom, Architecture, Client-funded, Permanent, 11-50, Undergraduate, Years, Graduates, Commissioned, Extra-curricular, Students, Students with tutor, Leeds Beckett Univ.
