August 30, 2025 / By rachel
Why Work Experience Matters in Architecture
At RRA Architects, we believe strongly in encouraging and nurturing future talent. A week in practice may feel small to us, but for a student it can be life-changing. Over the years, we’ve been contacted by architects who say their week of work experience with us was the deciding factor in their career choice. That’s why we take this responsibility seriously, aiming to give students a genuine taste of working life in architecture.
Balancing Real Projects with Student Learning
This year alone, we hosted nine weeks of work experience for school pupils from five different schools. We use a real brief from a previous RRA project, a sports clubhouse and community hub, so that students can work on a scheme they can take away for their portfolio. The students can choose which sport or sports the facility would be for, so they can personalise the brief to their interests. Some pupils even gave up weeks of their holidays to fit in time with us when their school dates didn’t align. This enthusiasm never fails to impress us (along with their thoughtful thank-you cards and gifts – which they do not need to do, but are always appreciated).
Amy’s Project: A Biophilic Community Hub
Special mention goes to one of the year 12 students, Amy, who kindly wrote a piece for this blog explaining her thought process behind her design:
“I designed a community hub for a Football Club and the village, drawing inspiration from the surrounding natural context and biophilic design. Hexagonal and octagonal forms lend the building an organic character, while a green roof and natural external materials help the scheme sit gently within the landscape.
The main internal space frames views of the pitches, playground and countryside through generous windows. At its heart sits a circular hub with toilets and a café to generate secondary income, and a first-aid room sits to one side for match-day incidents.
Upstairs a wraparound viewing deck provides sheltered spectator space and links via a bridge to an outdoor terrace with seating; beneath the terrace is covered space for markets or other community events. A glazed, hexagonal corridor leads to the gym and changing facilities, with a planted central atrium bringing greenery into the circulation. Ground-floor provision includes changing rooms, referee cubicles and storage; the first floor houses an open-plan gym with panoramic views across the woodland.”
Caolan’s Story: Architecture or Engineering?
Our final student of the year, Caolan (pictured at the top of this page), is going to take his GCSE’s in 2026 and he wasn’t sure whether to pursue architecture or engineering. After his week with RRA, he’s made up his mind — and told us he plans to return in six years as our Part 1 intern.
We’ll hold him to that!
Supporting the Next Generation
From biophilic design concepts to hand-drawn RRA logos, our students consistently bring creativity, energy and fresh ideas into the studio. Their work reminds us why architectural work experience matters, not only for the students but also for the future of the profession.
We’re incredibly proud of all the students we hosted this year. If you’d like to be considered for future work experience at RRA, please contact us, telling us why you’re interested in architecture and a bit about yourself.