Young Architect's Group

Monday 6 - 7:30pm, University of West England's Frenchay Campus, BS16 1QY


£10/ session with termly registration after a free trial session. Payment can be made in full or via installments.

We also offer free community spaces (please email to enquire).

Below: Overview/ Session content/ Arrival information/ Timetable

Welcome to the UK's only weekly architecture group! Our sessions are structured to teach our students the basics of building and spacial design to help them understand the implications of their design decisions.


Our founder, Kate Byrne, is also a tutor at the University of West England Bristol's International College, teaching the International Foundation to students progressing on to study Architecture.


Our collaborative relationship with UWE allows us to academically bridge our communities, teaching our OCC session on Frenchay campus and allowing knowledge, experience and confidence to flow between the groups.


We are very pleased to be able to offer free community places for our sessions. If you are interested in one of these places, please get in touch. Spots will be reserved on a first come first served basis.

The awareness of the importance of an architectural education for children has been steadily growing as the value of their spatial and cultural knowledge becomes apparent. Education, from an early age, is one of the most important ways of protecting the cultural landscape and maintaining sustainable architectural development - including its including aesthetic, cultural and creative quality.


There is an inherent value in architectural education for children and young people as they are members of, and future adults in, society. Educators and practitioners from a range of disciplines have espoused the ‘manifest value’ in children’s built environment education; regardless of whether they are to go on to work in the built environment.


By providing architecture education to children, our future adult citizens will have different expectations of quality regarding their built environments. They would be less likely to perceive architecture as primarily a matter of ‘decoration’, and more likely to take an active role in its development - whether that is as designers or as the conscious recipients and advocates of their own built environment.

Our collaborative relationship with UWE allows us to academically bridge our communities, teaching our OCC session on Frenchay campus and allowing knowledge, experience and confidence to flow between the groups.


Along as our tutors Kate and Elena, we will have volunteer (and DBS checked) university students assisting, along with other drop-in teachers. It is a great opportunity for skill sharing, confidence building and for budding architects to ask those studying the subject about university life.


UWE has been noted for pushing environmental and social aspects of architectural practice and was praised for 'forming a new architectural language of generosity and care, all of which is in abundance at the University of the West of England...'


In our sessions, we too place focus on developing social awareness to produce a community of students who are aware of the nature of the relationship between our physical and political environment.


Our students are also offered the regular opportunity to present their projects to external Architects for friendly feedback. We recently hosted a few guests from HTA's Bristol studio for mid-project reflections. Our students had a brilliant experience and we are all very grateful to Frankie, George and Esme for their time, generosity and encouragement!


All reviews are supervised by our teachers.

View HTA's site

Session Content

  • There are 2 projects per year:

‘Primer’ project from September - December

‘Main’ project from January -July.

  • Students register for the sessions termly
  • Students can join/leave/rejoin at any time (space dependent)


Brief example:

To design a piece of ‘nano-tecture’ that could be placed at multiple small sites within the City of Bristol (parks, street corners etc) to promote connection, friendship and togetherness within the city. The space should be a catalyst for meaningful experiences, should be free for the community to use, and should be designed in a way that draws in and intrigues the passer by. Models should be built at a 1:50 scale.

Arrival information

We will be meeting students promptly at 6pm on the X block patio by the visitor car park (free after 5pm) Parents/guardians are able to stay on site during the sessions - there is indoor seating within The Business School (X block) and outdoor seating by the Engineering Building.

Address

Coldharbour Ln, Stoke Gifford, Bristol

BS16 1QY.

Transport links

Frenchay campus is easily accessible via bus, train, car & bike. For details click here.

Frenchay campus map

You can download a PDF copy of the map here.

Timetable:

24/25 Academic Year Breakdown

Term 1: Monday 16 September '24 to Monday 21 October '24 - 6 weeks

Term 2: Monday 4 November '24 to Monday 16 December '24 - 7 weeks

Term 3: Monday 13 January '25 to Monday 10 February '25 - 5 weeks

Term 4: Monday 24 February '25 to Monday 31 March '25 - 6 weeks

Term 5: Monday 28 April '25 to Monday 19 May '25 - 3 weeks

Term 6: Monday 2 June '25 to Monday 21 July '25 - 8 weeks


Our term dates are set based on those of local schools - although some schools and academies may choose to adopt different dates.


Blue: Architect's Group/ Orange: Bank holidays/ Yellow: School holidays

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