Accelerate is a pioneering education and mentoring programme aimed at increasing diversity in the architecture profession. The Accelerate Exhibition runs at The Bartlett from 30 March to 3 April 2017.

Accelerate is for academically able and ambitious Year-12 students who potentially wish to pursue a career in architecture. It gives them the confidence and skills needed to make strong university applications to study architecture.

The Accelerate programme was developed and established in 2012 by Open City in partnership with UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture and Make Architects, and is supported by The Drapers’ Company.

160 students have taken part and benefited from the programme so far, with 70% of Accelerate participants securing conditional offers to study architecture and related subjects at universities including UCL, Cambridge and Manchester.

Accelerate 2016-17

  • 32 Year-12 mentees from 22 London schools
  • 26 architect mentors from 8 practices
  • 7 Bartlett students

Accelerate Exhibition: 30 March – 3 April 2017

The Accelerate Exhibition at The Bartlett showcases the work that the 31 mentees from 2016-17 have produced through their skills development workshops at The Bartlett and mentoring sessions with central London architects over the past six months.

The exhibition is open to the public from Thursday 30 March to Monday 3 April (closed Sunday), 10am-6pm, at The Bartlett School of Architecture, 22 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0QB.

Why Accelerate?

Accelerate is designed to encourage students from under-represented communities to pursue a career in architecture. It has been developed in direct response to requests from schools and Open City’s own research.

Increasing diversity in architecture can only positively transform our built environment.

Each year Accelerate provides 30-40 Year-12 students from across London with:

  • 1-to-1 mentoring with an architect at their London office
  • Skills development workshops in a university environment
  • Peer-to-peer learning with university students
  • An architecture project brief devised by UCL and Open City
  • Guidance workshops on portfolio production and university applications

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