June 2010 - Jordan's Blog
For a week in June, Jordan Whitewood-Neal joined the Next Wave project team to gain some valuable work experience and help the team at a crucial stage of the project, here is his blog of the week. 28th June 2010
My name is Jordan Whitewood-Neal, I am a student at Bexhill High School and this week I have been on work experience with Rother District Council. Throughout the week I have been helping out on the Next Wave project, and on my first day I was given a work plan which set out my tasks and activities for the week. I hoped that through completing these tasks it would help get an idea of architecture and the business of architecture, Things like designing and interviewing clients will be very helpful in enabling me to experience the work of an architect and also work in general. On Monday I used the day to get an understanding of where the Next Wave project had got to since I was last involved, I met my colleagues Ian Roadnight and Janice Windle. On Monday I also helped with research and ideas, and I think Monday gave me a subtle introduction to what work would be like, not just this week but in the future. On Tuesday I met Derek Stevens the Chief Executive of Rother District Council, we discussed the Next Wave project and what he wants to get out of the project, and also what I thought of the project, afterwards I had the opportunity to have a site visit to the works that are currently happening on the West Parade. English Landscapes were working on the garden rooms; I saw first hand the landscaping techniques used in this sort of project.
 After that I went to the Bexhill Museum to do research on the King George V Colonnade and speak to Julian Porter the museums curator, I hoped to find archives, documents or photos that helped show any changes to the colonnade since 1910. I discovered some photos from 1910 – 1940, some of which showed ground work and also external details on the colonnade. I believed these would be useful for the architects for when they come to refurbish it. I got several of these photos and annotated them according to what I saw, such as differences in soil and details such as the awnings.
Lastly I went to visit Steve at the coastal office, where I asked him questions about the use of the office. The coastal office is to be altered internally and it was my job to find out what he wanted from the new design, and then I had to go away and design it. I think from this task I got the real feel of an architect, communicating with clients and designing. On Wednesday I finished off my design for the coastal office and sent this to the architects HTA with my notes. I then had a meeting with Ian Roadnight and Janice Windle about the afternoons Steering Group. In the afternoon I was to be part of a steering group meeting with two sets of architects and also some very important clients. This meeting enabled me to get a sense of the business of architecture and the things that must be discussed, and how decisions are reach on a project like this; I also saw models and designs of the shelters which I thought was great. On Thursday, I did a lot of writing, which included emails to HTA, and also tidying up and finishing off my projects for the week. In the afternoon I had a conversation with Daniel Collins the senior communications officer. We spoke about the importance of communicating with a range of people from the architects to the public. He also asked me how I would communicate the next wave project to younger people, my ideas for this were such things as social networking groups and also the possibility for an opening day fete with such things as football and other stuff that would attract young people to come and visit the new seafront.
On Friday, I received a response from Stephen Ayles about my ideas for the coastal office; they were very constructive and allowed me to thoroughly understand the details that architecture requires. But I also questioned some suggestions due to my conversation with Steve the coastal officer on Tuesday, and his requirements. As this exercise has taught me the importance of balancing architectural skills and the needs of the client.  I believe the Next Wave project is going to produce a wide range of possibilities for Bexhill and the people in Bexhill, and I personally want to get certain things out of this project as well. The seafront from my perspective has always been quite boring and inaccessible, but I believe that this project will bring a new opportunity for me to be able to enjoy the seaside and use it a lot more. If more improvements are made in the future I would like them to investigate some possible development of beach access for wheelchairs. There is currently no access apart from ramps down to the stones, but providing no further access. I would like one day to be able to use the beach in the summer, and hopefully funding for this will some day be available. Apart from that I am very excited to see the seafront finished so it can again be enjoyed by everyone.
I have found this week to be a great experience for me and I have enjoyed all of the stuff that I have been able to do, from designing to meeting the architects themselves. I believe this experience will be of great use to me in the future and would like to thank Ian Roadnight, Janice Windle and everyone else involved in the project for making this week very exciting and productive. Jordan Whitewood-Neal P.s. Thank you for the Domino's Pizza!
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