Architecture alumni share experiences with current cohort

The current cohort of architecture students received some encouragement and guidance recently when they met with three alumni who have thrived by building on their experiences at the University of Huddersfield.

Sarah Bradshaw, Lucy Gregson and Hammad Haider, who have all graduated from Huddersfield since 2020, returned to the Barbara Hepworth Building on campus and shared their reflections on their time at the university and since leaving.

Hammad now works for the world-renowned Foster + Partners, Lucy is studying for her Master’s at the University of Cambridge while working for Frank Shaw and Sarah, who like Lucy is a winner of the Women in Property for Yorkshire and the North East award, is working for local practice France and Associates.

The trio spoke to 25 second and third year students as part of Alumni Stories: Talks and Dialogue, arranged by Senior Lecturer in Architecture Danilo Di Mascio.

Study architecture at the University of Huddersfield

“This was a great opportunity for our second and third year students to learn from our alumni,” says Danilo.

“It was very helpful for them to listen to former students to try to understand how they managed their studies, their life and what they considered when applying for jobs after graduating, or what to consider in their next steps. As Sarah, Lucy and Hammad have graduated quite recently, I think our current students could relate to them well.

“It will help our current students to know that challenges can be interpreted as opportunities to grow and improve.”

Sarah’s award was based on her innovative second-year project, where she proposed improving infrastructure and facilities for young people in Holmfirth, as well as taking the town’s susceptibility flooding into account when designing a hostel.

Lucy won the same award as Sarah two years later for designing an art and community centre in Marsh on the outskirts of Huddersfield. Both she and Hammad also had papers published in Fields, the University’s journal, with Hammad focusing on the links between architecture and Arabic calligraphy in the work of renowned Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid.

Uni experience was invaluable

"Meeting Sarah, Lucy and Hammad, hearing about their experiences and opinions, will help our students feel more confident about what they're doing and about the future, as  they are developing some excellent skills across a broad range of topics,” Danilo adds.

Reflecting on her return to the campus, Lucy Gregson added, “It was a lovely opportunity to return to the University and reflect on my own journey with the current students, especially as it wasn’t too long ago that I was in their exact position. 

“My experience at Huddersfield was so valuable and continues to shape and support my work in practice and ongoing education. I hope I was able to leave the students feeling reassured but also excited about all the possibilities ahead within their careers.”

Students visit Berlin

Twenty-five Year 3 students also recently visited Berlin as part of the Design Studio 6 module, which focuses on Culture, Context and Place and links with the university’s recent Cultures of Film project.

“Our students appreciated that with so much of the city being destroyed and then rebuilt relatively recently, there is a message on how architecture can reconnect people with locations,” Danilo adds. “Visiting Berlin, seeing the buildings there and how they were built not just for Germans but for people who had arrived in the country, helped our students appreciate how to connect people of different backgrounds with where they live.”