After school club: Teaching the future of the built environment

Can you introduce yourself to the readers and how you’re affiliated to UCL?

My name is Kevin Green, and along with being a Bartlett alum, I teach at The Bartlett School of Architecture on the Architecture and Interdisciplinary studies course as a year 3 design and creative practice tutor. 

How did you initially get into outreach work? 

I co-founded an association of designers artists and architects about 10 years ago called STORE. STORE began life as a collaborative installation on Store St with about 40 architects and designers taking part. Since then, we have been doing more and more work in the state school sector to introduce young people to architecture, design, and fine art, prioritising pupil premium students.

In the last few years, UCL’s widening participation has been supporting our one-day workshops programme in London state schools and last year we were able to work with The Bartlett to deliver a number of courses for schools.

We work with some exceptionally talented young people who either lack confidence in their ability or who do not have enough access to creative learning. Most of what we do is working to ensure the next generation of designers, artists and architects better reflect the communities they work for and live in.

Can you tell us about the outreach work you’re doing with The Bartlett?

In 2018 we started STORE STORE in Kings Cross, a design shop and after school club programmme.

Our after school club gives state school students the chance to work with some of the most exciting designers and architects working in Europe. The objects developed in the workshops are showcased in the shop, with each student receiving a royalty from their designs.

The after school club has helped a vast number of students across London built their confidence, meet new people, gain new skills and develop their portfolios for undergraduate applications. We are now seeing many of our students going on to study at universities across the country in UCL's Bartlett School of Architecture.

We have recently opened a sister STORE STORE in Rotterdam. With our summer school programme coming up we are looking at how the two sites can interact, with our Camden students visiting Rotterdam and vice versa.

We are also going to be looking for a permanent home for STORE STORE London, one that we would like to build.

What do you hope to achieve in 2021 with the after school club? 

We have been running our after school club online with Maker kits mailed out to students. We are excited to get back to working with students in our workshop space in Kings Cross introducing them to new and exciting designers and processes. Our goal this year is to increase the number of students who are applying to and receiving places at university. We want to help more students into full scholarships at higher education. 

How can people reach out to you? Either to get involved, to participate in a programme, or just to say hello!

We have our new website up and running which gives you a good idea of what we do; storeprojects.org. We have an Instagram page @storeprojects, and you can email us a school@storeprojects.org if you would like to find out more or get involved.

If you're interested in getting involved with the After School Club, you can email us at bartlett.outreach@ucl.ac.uk to find out more.