Students from the Faculty of the Built Environment participated in this year's edition of ArchiVisit held in London between the 10 and 17 July.
The third edition of ArchiVisit organised by SACES in collaboration with Visiting Senior Lecturer Perit Mark Borg was supported by Innovative Architectural Structures (iAS), the Planning Authority and the Building Construction Authority. The focus of this year's ArchiVisit was sustainable design in construction projects achieved as a collaboration between architects, structural engineers, facade engineers, building services consultants and project managers.
The participants attended presentations and workshops at established international architectural and engineering service firms such as Arup, Burohappold, Zaha Architects, Hilson Moran, Thornton Tomassetti and Make Architects. Ongoing construction sites with carbon neutral targets such as Broadgate 1 and Battersea Power Stations regeneration projects were also visited by the group.
The students also had the opportunity to review the work of other students from the Bartlett School of Architecture, whilst visiting their facilities and model making workshops. Wintech organised a tour of the LSE Centre Building, an award winning project for its excellent approach to sustainable design. Other walking tours were organised at Kew Gardens, where a number of projects by Mizzi Studio are featured and another one organised by Thornton Tomassetti to explain the facade engineering behind a number of their prestigious projects around London. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) also hosted the students at their headquarters.
"After a suspension of two years, this year's ArchiVisit experience has been yet again successful in showcasing the best practices in architectural design, structural engineering, facade engineering and project management with a common objective of sustainability in construction projects", stated Perit Mark Borg, who is also ArchiVisit founder.
SACES President, David Debattista, emphasised the importance of ArchiVisit for students, especially since it provides students from the Faculty for the Built Environment the opportunity to physically visit and understand the architectural design, project management, and regulation systems used by some of the world's best architectural firms. "It was an eye-opening experience for all students present, furthering our eagerness to learn and wish to improve the Maltese Built Environment. It was also an opportunity for those present to further their relationships with students from different years from the course, as well as architects and engineers who have furthered their careers abroad", said SACES President.
