HUT take the view that our engagement with community should start at the grass roots. We have been based in City Fringe / East London for over 20 years and have worked alongside a number of local schools in areas where Architecture may not be a first choice for pupils – with the aim of demystifying what the profession is about. We have given talks, lead workshops in primary & secondary schools, and provided teaching resources for all ages. We currently have 3 ongoing academic partnerships – Waltham Forest, Lammas school and Inspire (London Education charity).
Last year we took on 11 work experience students; 5 of them from a local East London College. We don’t just make the studio available – we also set students specific design briefs depending on their stage and assign them a mentor whilst at HUT. We keep in touch with candidates and have had a number of repeat work experience students come back for more. Some of our work experience students have gone on to become employees of HUT, and have themselves subsequently participated in helping younger students see a career in architecture.
HUT are engaged with the Firm Foundations campaign, affiliated with the Mayor For London’s Diversity Pledge. We strive to be EDI champions and put strategies in place to pro-actively include people that might possess different skills, and have policies holding us accountable to hiring in a diverse and equal manner. We participate in a range of events throughout the year; including such as Museum of London Gingerbread City, Studio Lates, London Festival of Architecture, as well as hosting bi-annual events in our own studio. We undertake pro-bono design work; have designed a local community enterprise bakery Dusty Knuckle in Dalston, and designed and co-funded the construction of a community Forest Garden in Leytonstone.
