Call for Applications: 2021 Architectural Drawing Summer School

  • 26 August 2021

If you are a student in Year 1 or 2 of your A levels, and you have an interest in studying architecture this is a great opportunity to learn more about the subject with some of the best lecturers teaching architecture in the United Kingdom.

This major learning opportunity will take place in the Summer 2021, in the form of an architectural summer school to be held at Hauser & Wirth Somerset from 26 – 31 August 2021. You can view a short film of last year’s Summer School here. This will be the fifth iteration of our Architectural Drawing Summer School, which was first held in 2017. The programme has been widely praised by all students as providing an unrivalled insight into architecture and the associated professions.

The Summer School is organised and funded by Drawing Matter, Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Kingston School of Art and Bruton School for Girls and has been able to grow thanks to generous sponsorship from leading architects including Eric Parry, Peter Wilson and Niall McLaughlin. Expert tuition is led by Andrew Clancy, Professor of Architecture at Kingston, with a team of tutors and experts from our partner universities including Queens University Belfast, Cardiff University and University of Dundee.

We are looking for intelligent and communicative young people with a keen interest in the visual environment, an inquisitive attitude and a positive approach to learning. We particularly welcome applicants from low income households. Our intention is to give young people an opportunity, at what could be a pivotal point in their intellectual development, an understanding of the built environment and access to insights and skills that are not taught in secondary schools.

The course is designed to give A-Level students with an interest in architecture and the built environment an insight into how professional architects record what they see, how this information connects to the buildings they produce and how the process of drawing can be used to test and develop an idea. During the week students will be exposed to conversations and exercises set by leading thinkers in architectural education today. The programme introduces students to architecture through a wide range of activities including drawing, discussion, practical experimentation and collaborative learning.

A key part of the course is the network of contacts they will form with other students, and this conversation acts as a key part of the course, accelerating personal insight and position, in a simulacrum of university life. Successful applicants will receive bed and board in the facilities of Bruton School for Girls. Workshops take place at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Drawing Matter and in and around the town of Bruton. Distance learning content will provide opportunities for broader engagement and provide a potential alternative if students are unable to attend in person. Students have had the landscape of their education narrowed due to the pandemic - we present this course as a chance to redress this somewhat.

Applications are due by 5pm on Friday 28 May 2021, with successful applicants informed by 4 June 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact A.Clancy@kingston.ac.uk