TRADA University Challenge 2019

A multidisciplinary team of undergraduates, including Welsh School of Architecture student Elliott Wang, have taken part in a UK-wide timber design competition. Elliott’s team came 4th in the competition overall.

60 students from universities across the UK took part in the charrette-style challenge in Sheffield on 8-9th February 2019. The challenge invited students to design exemplary student accommodation, predominantly from timber, with an emphasis on health and well-being, energy efficiency, and building to budget.

Students were asked to design to a tight brief, incorporating sponsors’ products while working around real life constraints provided by the site chosen for this challenge: an old shopping centre in the heart of Sheffield’s shopping district. Each team included two architects, two engineers, a landscape architect and a quantity surveyor – creating situations and relationships comparable to project teams – with pioneering design professionals and industry members providing specialist support.

Welsh School of Architecture participant Elliott said: “I chose to take part because I thought it was a great opportunity to represent the School, and to further my understanding of teamwork across professions and the future of timber use throughout our industry. I thought the competition was eye-opening, not just because I learnt a lot of timber construction and prefabrication, but also because I learnt a lot about what people on courses such as civil engineering and quantity surveying study, and what overlaps with architectural education. The competition was really enjoyable but definitely stressful due to the day and a half we had to design the full scheme.”

TRADA (The Timber Research and Development Association) is an international membership organisation dedicated to inspiring and informing best practice design, specification and use of wood in the built environment and related fields.