- Design for a Sistema Scotland music centre at Balloch, inspired by her own lived experience, impresses judges
- Abby now joins 11 other students in the UK National finals
- See work by Abby and other Stage 3 Architecture students in GSA Graduate Showcase from 9 June 2021
A Stage 3 Architecture student at the GSA, Abby Hopes, has won a prestigious Women in Property regional award it has been announced. Female architecture and built environment students from across the north and central Scotland had competed for two awards with Abby winning the Central Scotland prize of £300 and the chance to and to go forward to the UK National final later in the year.
The judges described Abby as “exceptional, engaged, animated, she will make things happen. She is self-aware and objective with huge empathy for others – a rare attribute.”
“It is a true honour to have won the Women in Property Central Scotland Student Awards this year,” says Abby. “I can’t quite believe it!”
“I am so grateful to the committee, judges and my tutors for their support and for believing in me. I could never have imagined a few years ago that I would be where I am now, and I hope to be a role model for other young women to overcome any barriers they may face when entering architecture as a profession. All it takes is for someone to believe in you, and to believe in yourself too.”
“Being recognised in the award for my empathetic approach to inclusive design has reaffirmed how important these attributes are in architecture. I am delighted to be a part of such a fantastic network of inspiring women in the built environment industry. I can’t wait to see what the future holds, and for the National Final in September.”
Abby presented the work that she had undertaken on a Y3 studio design project to create a musical retreat and associated performance space for the children of Sistema on the shores of Loch Lomond at Balloch, which was inspired by her own experience.
“This project grew from my own lived experience of orchestra residential trips as a young person. My memory recalls a positive, organic experience, which grew from the gathering of people, the making of music. No matter the context or circumstances, the people made it special,” says Abby
“Sistema Scotland emulate my experience with their Big Noise programme, transforming young people’s lives through musical education, whilst ‘making do’ within the constraints of their provided built environment.
With the creation of their own residential retreat and performance hall, my proposal facilitates the culture of Sistema, driven by the variety of scales in which they gather together. Ownership and agency over space are central to my concept, allowing they oung people to feel a sense of belonging within the public and private realm of Balloch.”
“To make do assumes to settle for lesser. But with the climate emergency as our reality, we must use what we already have to our advantage. My proposal celebrates adaptive reuse of materials: creating an assemblage of buildings, for the assembly of people.”
Abby Hopes came to the GSA through the school’s Widening Participation programme and first engaged with GSA through the “architects in the making” workshops. She has maintained a role within this team in supporting new students. In her Stage 3 project she was tutored by Kirsty Lees and Ian Alexander of JM Architects.
See work by Abby Hopes and other Stage 3 Architecture students on Graduate Showcase 2021 which launches on 9 june at https://gsashowcase.net
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For further information contact:
Lesley Booth
07799414474