Archivisit opening day….and what a day!
In the morning the students headed to ARUP headquarters for a presentation and design workshop, followed by a construction site visit at the Google Headquarters in Kings Cross, a tour of MAKE Architects studio and finally at Bartlett School of Architecture for student’s exhibition of projects and tour of workshops.
At ARUP, Giancarlo Torpiano spoke about the importance of collaborative design approach to reach the expected quality aspirations. The RIBA plan of work was explained and an interactive workshop ensued. Members of ARUP’s structural design team, Orlando Gibbons, Deni Siampou, Yolande Alvez de Souza also gave presentations.
Francesca Falzon from RISE consulting, through her contacts with Lendlease, facilitated the first construction site visit in this Archivisit edition. The new Google Headquarters, in Kings Cross, termed as a landscaper was visited by the group.
“Google’s London flagship will be 1,082 feet long, which is 66 feet longer than The Shard, London’s tallest building, is high. The new building is comparable to the iconic Empire State building (1,250 feet) in New York.”
In the afternoon, the students attended a studio tour at MAKE architects, hosted by Alessandro Grech La Rosa and Stuart Fraser. The converted car park is now bubbling with innovation and creativity as projects come to life through design. After an introductory presentation and a tour of Rathbone and Fitzroy projects, a themed workshop took place.
The day ended at Bartlett School of Architecture hosted by resident lecturer William Victor Camilleri who explained the Bartlett philosophy. The exhibition of projects and models, across all five floors of the school was a source of inspiration for the students. A tour of the state of the art workshops including 3d-printing department, welding, plasma cutting and carpentry was included.
