Future Schools: Mentoring a New Generation of Architecture Students

Future Schools was an event hosted by Bridge to give a group of local middle school students an introductory taste of the architecture school that resides in their town. This is the second time Bridge has had the chance to open the eyes of a group of local Cambridge students from grades 7 & 8 to the possibility of becoming future architecture students.

The day started off with a tour around our school and answering any questions they had about what it is exactly that we do here all day (and sometimes all night). Their favourite part of the tour was, unsurprisingly, the wood and digital fabrication workshops as well as our light-filled library. They were especially curious about the large map walls, the many models that were on display on top of bookshelves, and our lovely tatami napping nooks.

We ended up upstairs in the loft where we broke into two groups to hold mini workshops.

We had one group making foam models: we encouraged them to think about massing and form, but otherwise let their imaginations and little fingers run. With 6 foam cutters running and our UWSA volunteers performing constant repairs of snapped hot wires, it was quite a relief that there were no injuries at the end of the day. The other group learned how to draw in perspective. It was hard for them to trust that parallel lines do converge until near the end of the lesson when shapes started to form they exclaimed, “Oh, it’s a building!”

After enjoying lunch on the terrace by the river, the two groups switched with each other.

Both workshops had them envisioning what they thought future schools would look like, and we held an exhibition at the Bridge storefront the following Monday for the students and their parents to see their ideas on display beside their peers.

Overall the day ran smoothly, with Michael Nugent coordinating the activities and many UWSA students coming out to help guide the young minds. We want to extend our thanks to their teacher, Ms. Deanna Reinhart, for reaching out to us to hold this event. We love opportunities to connect to our local communities; it is precisely the reason why Bridge was created.