“We were astounded at the quality of the submissions,” says Amy Edwards of architectural firm Arkhefield.  “30 architecture students across the four Queensland Universities presented work of an extremely high standard.”

At the tail end of last year, the award-winning practise launched a design competition amongst Queensland architecture students, offering the winner a year long internship position at the firm.

The competition was structured around the choice of three briefs of varying scale, each of which represented a range of design challenges.  “The criteria for judging was technical ability, strength of ‘the big idea’, the feasibility of the designs and graphic presentation skills,” adds Edwards.  “Shortlisted students were then invited to present their work alongside a physical model, the process of which yielded the final winners.”

“It was a difficult decision and in the end only five points separated the entire pool,” adds Edwards.  “Ultimately the senior leadership couldn’t decide between the top three students and offered internships to all of them.”

Jeremy Field, Anthony Ip and Stephen Carmichael were the three successful applicants, are now all gainfully employed at the firm and involved in a variety of projects.  Whilst two out of three are engaging in their official work experience, Carmichael has elected to take a year out from his programme to take up the role.

“The students all represented different strengths,” explains Amy, “but we recognise the need to provide them with experience and opportunities that span all the disciplines of the profession.”

Despite the amount of time spent on the launch and selection, the firm are thrilled with the outcome.  “It was a gamble, but we are already impressed with the contribution that the trio are making at the firm,” adds Edwards.  “In addition, we can pinpoint and hone some of their additional skills and integrate them into our current projects.”

Arkhefield

arkhefield.com.au