Housing Project gives students real-world experience in housing

The students will be involved in the planning of the new site, which is in the early stages of master planning with Stonewater’s development partner, BoonBrown.

In previous years, Stonewater has been involved with undergraduate students designing homes for Bristol's diverse population, with a focus on underrepresented communities.

This year, due to curriculum changes, the module team has seized the opportunity on offer to give UWE Master students experience of working with Stonewater and BoonBrown on a live project.

“When you talk to people who have built careers in housing, it is all too common to hear that they ended up in the sector by chance,” said Matthew Crucefix, Director of Development Operations, Stonewater.

“We’re keen to change that by investing in the next generation and giving them a taste of what it’s like to work in housing. Inviting students to be involved in the tangible development of our new site allows them to work on real-world deliverables and gives them invaluable experience working with clients.

“Many people entering architecture, development or other housing careers often don’t have experience working with clients when they start out, so projects like this are really useful in developing learning opportunities for career-ready graduates.”

Stonewater’s long-time development partner, BoonBrown, has worked with the social housing provider to brief, support and provide feedback on the plans developed by the UWE students.

The goal has been to support them as they develop master planning documents for the site that can then be considered for the live project.

“Not only is this project a great opportunity for the students taking part, but it’s also a brilliant chance for us to get fresh eyes and new ideas,” said Sydney Winter, Architectural Apprentice, BoonBrown. 

“Stonewater and BoonBrown have worked together for a long time and we have built reliable patterns for building high-standard homes and communities. The students’ final presentation was a great opportunity to learn how they would shape this development and see what we can take into development.

“As someone who has recently completed postgraduate studies, I can’t express enough how important projects like this are to help people enter the field with real-world experience.”

Speaking about the value of involving organisations like Stonewater in the curriculum, Ann de Graft-Johnson, Senior Lecturer in Architecture and the Environment, UWE, said: “While the traditional route for architecture students is to take a year out after undergraduate studies, not everyone does this. Our Exploratory Design Studio programme is designed to provide experience of professional responsibilities.

“The students working with Stonewater had not experienced creating housing for rural communities before, so it was invaluable for them. Creating something of value to a unique rural community was a new challenge and it’s provided valuable lessons to take into the future.

“It’s clear that Stonewater is dedicated to creating communities, not just building houses. The team is always interested in enabling conversations and they are always open to taking on new ideas. It’s been great for students to learn from a provider who operates at this level.”

Both Stonewater and BoonBrown are invested in supporting the next generation of architects and housing providers. Stonewater’s own graduate programme has seen several graduates start careers with the provider and BoonBrown has an ongoing mentoring relationship with undergraduate students as well as offering placements and apprenticeships to budding architects.

The current Stonewater project with UWE students has delivered final presentations, with planning ideas and suggestions that Stonewater and BoonBrown are currently assessing to see what can potentially be incorporated into the final plans for the new housing site.