Virtual Work Experience Launched for Architectural, Planning and Construction Students

AN ARCHITECTURAL and planning practice has set up a Virtual Studio for students who would otherwise miss out on 2020 placements and internships.

Halliday Fraser Munro has launched the Virtual Studio giving students from any university or college free of charge access.

Architectural, planning and construction students can join programmes of free, live webinars, discussions, presentations and Q and As. Students can meet, network and quiz the highly experienced architectural team which has a wealth of knowledge in their field.

The initial programme includes:

• The Design Journey Through Planning – 23 September
• Transition From Studio To Office – 7 October
• Developing The Brief – 21 October

David Halliday, Managing Director of Halliday Fraser Munro said, “Providing opportunities for students to develop and grow in their chosen field of architecture, planning and construction has always been an important focus for the whole team at Halliday Fraser Munro.

“Each year we have an intake of work placement and internship undergraduates across all of our offices, and we are determined that, in the absence of these face to face workplace opportunities in 2020, we provide high level, quality access to our teams for these students.

“The Virtual Studio will deliver webinars to enhance student’s knowledge of the latest topics affecting the industry and gives us the opportunity to make connections with the next generation of talent and to help them transition from the studio to the office.”

Architectural work experience portal

The Virtual Studio is not the first educational innovation from Halliday Fraser Munro since lockdown. In April, the firm rapidly created and launched a virtual work experience portal for secondary school pupils who missed out on their placements.

The website content aimed to motivate and encourage young people to consider a career in architecture and the construction industry during lockdown. The programme mirrored the Halliday Fraser Munro office-based experience and could be completed at home. By completing the work experience portal tasks, students developed their interest in architecture and developed skills in, and an understanding of, spatial modelling and interpreting a client brief.

House Design

A competition to design a building or house using any media was also launched by Halliday Fraser Munro. It attracted entries from across the UK, designed in everything from Minecraft to Lego.