PlanBEE: Ryder Placement

As part of the pioneering programme, we rotate around the sponsor businesses every four months and we were excited to hear we would be joining Ryder for our first posting.  We were all hoping for a challenging and rewarding start to our PlanBEE journey.

We were already aware of some amazing projects the practice had worked on across the UK and internationally and were offered the chance to see some of the regional projects during a site tour with partner, Ian Kennedy, which included landmarks such as the City Library and Newcastle Central Station.  The tour gave us an exciting insight into the scale of projects that we would be working on during our time at the practice.

In our first week, we had the chance to take part in the annual Ryder student design competition, which provided a great opportunity for ourselves and other new starters to develop proposals for a live project in the heart of Newcastle.  We were each able to work with our respective team members to produce dynamic and engaging responses to the competition brief.  This three day project acted perfectly as an introduction to working as part of a team on an architectural project – something that previously we all had very little experience in.

During the placement, our time would be divided between Technologies and concept teams.  This was to make sure we gained a rounded experience inside the practice and an understanding of each work stage.

In the time we spent in Technologies, we all played our parts on some fascinating projects.  Our tasks entailed tagging model elements, creating schedules, detailing sections and editing drawings.  Here, we gained new respect for the level of detail needed in BIM modelling.  With BIM becoming ever more embedded in the construction industry, it is inevitable throughout our careers that Revit will become intertwined with our daily tasks.  Our time in Technologies was perfect for developing this skill so early in our careers and will be extremely valuable as we continue our PlanBEE rotations.

Moving to the concept team offered a chance to see projects at earlier stages, providing opportunities to contribute to pivotal discussions on the direction of various projects.  Working closely with our mentors we were involved with work leading up to a stage three report of Science Central, a landmark development in science and leisure in the centre of Newcastle, even having the opportunity to visit the site.  With the concept team we used old CAD plans to build models from scratch, as well as massing surrounding buildings for future studies.  Watching the early stages of projects begin to develop was incredibly satisfying to be a part of.

We have had a truly fantastic experience working at Ryder.  In the short amount of time, we have had the chance to work on some major projects and through this work have developed a better understanding of the construction industry from an architectural perspective.

Now moving on to contractors Sir Robert McAlpine and Tolent, we will be exposed to a contrasting environment and are looking forward to seeing how business is handled from a different standpoint.

We would like to finish by saying a massive thank you to everyone at Ryder for making us feel so welcome, and a special thank you to our mentors Jason Braithwaite, Aaron Young and Dave Thornton who have gave up their time to assure our time was as productive as it could be.  We are all sad to be leaving, however we look forward to working with everyone at Ryder again in the future during PlanBEE and our future careers.