The day before working at Carter Gregson Gray I felt like I couldn’t do much except take stock of my year so far. It’s quite nerve racking going t different places, one minute I’m working in a gym, next I’m in an office with high flying architects. I feel like I’m all over the place. And I was nervous about going to work in the office for the first time, what was I supposed to wear? Would I have any thing to say? What would they expect me to do? And would I get sat on on the tube?
It all worked out in the end. I didn’t get squashed on the tube and everyone in the office was SO kind to me.
I cannot tell you how good the experience was. Every person I met was really passionate about what they do and they made time to explain and show me the pitches they’d won and were working on. I didn’t realise how interesting architecture could be, when ever my dad talks about work (he’s an architect) I just switch off and pretend to be listening but it was different with these people. They really made me think about how every built space we are in comes from the imagination of someone. These people were really big dreamers and seem to care about people.
A fun project they’re working on is a foot bridge, they didn’t expect to win that pitch and for a laugh they had an idea that they could make it 15 metres wide instead of it being the normal size. This was to make it into a feature where people could stay and watch the ducks and swans. It might not have been for a laugh, I can’t remember their exact words but they did push the boat out with their creativity and the client loved it. Also, it’s shaped like a boat. It made me think it’s helpful to not hold back with your ideas sometimes.
This was my desk for the day and my job was to think of how they could repurpose this Beacon project. They won the pitch from Bradford City of Culture and the idea was to bring theatre and art to people who would not otherwise go to art spaces. Working with an engineer they dreamt up a sturdy, temporary and changeable art performance space that could be built and moved to different places without the need for foundations.
Sadly the client wasn’t able to go ahead but as this has already been designed and costed it is ready to be made and used! All it needs to happen are people with vision who can see how much of a win win situation it would be to associated with bringing arts to the people. I reckon it would be able to get some funding with the Arts Everywhere Fund as this must def tick all the boxes. I did try and contact a couple of companies who I thought might be interested in partnering but they didn’t get back to me. Their loss!
Sadly the client wasn’t able to go ahead but as this has already been designed and costed it is ready to be made and used! All it needs to happen are people with vision who can see how much of a win win situation it would be to associated with bringing arts to the people. I reckon it would be able to get some funding with the Arts Everywhere Fund as this must def tick all the boxes. I did try and contact a couple of companies who I thought might be interested in partnering but they didn’t get back to me. Their loss!
Then they let me present some of my ideas for housing. My house actually. I came up with designs that were based on an above ground rabbit warren. I thought it would be cool to have interconnecting pods with tunnels you walk through. All the designs imagined use cob which is clay mixed with other natural materials. You can get really sculptural if you use cob, it’s nice. What surprised me was that the architects seemed really interested in my drawings. I think they may have even gasped when they saw the blue one. Maybe they were being polite. A polite gasp of interest.
I really love it! I would love to build a house like this one day, can you imagine?
I went home on the tube full of ideas and inspiration and then I conked out for the rest of the week because I was EXHAUSTED. I don’t know how people manage to work 5 days a week!
