Delivering social value through architecture: Our Town Hall

Ensuring that we add social value to our projects is a vital element of Purcell’s work. Developing opportunities for local people is at the forefront of the social value of our projects; from enabling communities to learn about a building’s history through to developing work experience for jobseekers. To understand social value is to acknowledge the importance of how the social impact of a project can be maximised, and to ensure that the continued sustainability of a building benefits the people that use it, employees that work within it, and the surrounding area.

For all the buildings on which Purcell works, we promote the history and significance of those buildings to our clients, the public, the construction workforce, end users, local schools, and universities. We support and stimulate change, not only through the completed project, but throughout the duration of the design and construction periods. We involve the often-diverse communities for whom the project serves, developing broad educational programmes which inform those communities of their architectural heritage.

Architectural training contributes significantly to social value. Our training programme teaches our up-and-coming architects, emphasising the development of building construction and its changing craft techniques over time which complements design-focused architectural schools. We also want to support those schools by providing additional opportunities for Part 1 and 2 students, broadening their education by introducing aspects of Purcell’s work that students may not easily encounter within the schools in which they are studying.

This involves providing work placements, supporting the RIBA mentoring Scheme and which may include tours of our construction sites or more in-depth study of the philosophy which lies behind our work. Our staff also work as tutors and support research projects. I am a strong supporter of advocating alternative ways of studying architecture, such as apprenticeship schemes and part-time learning.

The Our Town Hall (OTH) project, which focuses on the wholesale refurbishment of the Grade 1 Listed Manchester Town Hall, employs several apprentices, and we support many students while they undertake courses and part-time work, from both a financial and mentoring perspective. As Design and Conservation Architects, we need to ensure the longevity of our projects while supporting the legacy of local trades.

The training of trade skills requires a great deal of work and experience, and it is expensive because craftsmanship can only be learnt through practice. For example, after students have undertaken apprenticeships, it is important to find employment opportunities for them, ideally in paid employment on the project on which they learned their skills.