Foundation Degree Spatial Design at Plymouth College of Art

For two years we have been part of the national Sorrell Foundation Young Design Programme, which pitches design teams from the art college with client teams from school pupils. A London exhibition results from this second year project in Somerset House. The local schools are regularly inspired to make changes on their property as a result of the design consultations undertaken.

Specialist staff are invited to visit and set up a brief in a particular area, and contribute to the assessments. These include this year:

• TR2 the Theatre Royal workshops – for a theatre set brief
  
  
• Zest Healthcare, a programme of interior and exterior design work at hospitals in the Plymouth area – for an outdoor public space
  
  
• Jaguar showroom at Plympton - for a Christmas window display 
  
  
• Local architect and part time staff member Robert Bedner who will involve the BA top-up group in an apprentice period within his office, following and contributing to an ongoing project

We involve local organisations and employers in several other ways, sometimes as mentors on a project, sometimes as hosts to show us round a place for a brief. For example:

• The City Council development department hosted us at a local park when they were going to redesign the childrens’ area and we built a brief to respond to this
  
  
• A local developer had stripped out a building prior to putting in a new restaurant and invited the students to draw up design ideas
  
  
• A local Prison Governor showed students the visiting area so they could respond to a national design competition brief (RSA) on prison visiting experiences
  
  
• Two landscape architects and a local architect were mentors for design teams involved with client teams of local school children through the Sorrell Foundation Young Design Programme
  
  
• Plymouth City Council as well as many other organisations locally have hosted students on work experience.