As part of Schop Institute and Summerhall's collaborative Architecture Academy in July, Edinburgh school students occupied a vacant lab at Summerhall, the former Royal Dick veterinary school at the east end of the Meadows, Edinburgh. This lively new arts venue gave the participants a taste of the varied learning environment similar to that in higher education. As well as taking part in design studio challenges and model making exercises, the students were given illustrated talks and taken on guided visits to an architect’s practice, a building under construction, the department of architecture at the University of Edinburgh and a tour of Edinburgh’s old town.
The week culminated in a design exercise. The aspiring architects designed a fantastical towering mix of uses including a new type of ethical bank, a Japanese Noh dance studio and Big Brother style apartment for visiting architects.
The course builds on Schop Institue’s Making Architecture evening classes which run in the autumn each year at Schop Institute’s office in St Mary’s Street, Edinburgh. Schop is an initiative of Oliver Chapman Architects to widen participation in the study of architecture and the city.
Schop plans to repeat this course in summer 2013. Contact us early to secure a place | admin@schop.org.uk