PBA have partnered with West Lodge Primary School in Pinner under the Architecture Ambassadors programme run by the RIBA, working with 90 students from Year 5. The programme was developed by the RIBA to give children an insight into architecture and inspire them about the potential of the built environment. PBA created a brief with the Year Group Leader that ran alongside the Year 5’s current syllabus, exploring the challenges presented in Pinner post World War 2 and the damage caused by The Blitz.

The students were presented with various scenarios, given a site and family within Pinner and asked to design a home in small groups. Following an introductory talk focusing on the role of an Architect and a brief history of British homes, the students started brainstorming and creating conceptual plans responding to their individual sites and family requirements.

In the following weekly workshops members of the PBA team helped students develop models, supporting them in converting ideas from plan to 3D, and trying to get students to think about volumes of space, materials, light and movement through the proposed buildings.

The students’ creative and fun ideas were analysed, and the most well communicated plans and models were chosen by the PBA team and awarded prizes. This proved to be a great programme and was enjoyed by all, well done to all of the Year 5 students and we look forward to the next school partnership!