This year’s Digital Bootcamp saw us welcome another group of ambitious architecture students into our Covent Garden studio, working alongside programme partner Symetri and our collaborators at BNAMICS and Creative ITC. Now in its second year, the Bootcamp is part of our Future Talent Programme - designed to give undergraduate students in years 2 and 3 a clearer understanding of the digital journey and how to apply digital tools in real architectural practice.

Over two weeks, students explored digital design workflows in detail - from early concept generation using Rhino, Grasshopper and AI-assisted sketching, to BIM coordination in Revit, environmental testing in Forma, and final visualisation with Enscape and Twinmotion. The brief asked them to reimagine the façade and entrance of one of our life sciences projects, with a focus on improving energy performance and creating a stronger architectural identity. They were also asked to define a new building use, selecting from typologies such as lab, co-working space or education centre.

The programme combined online sessions and in-person support, with practical tutorials delivered by our digital team and partners. Students were encouraged to test and challenge what they were learning - creating bespoke workflows and discovering how digital tools could enhance their ideas, not just streamline them. They returned at the end of the programme to present their final proposals to our Design Research Unit, and wider studio team, where their work was shared, discussed and constructively critiqued.

What makes the Bootcamp valuable isn’t just the technology - it’s the space it creates for experimentation, the feedback students receive, and the confidence they gain in their own design thinking. As Ana Matic, Director of Digital Development, put it: “The Digital Bootcamp is about more than learning tools – it’s about unlocking curiosity. We designed it to give students a real insight into how digital design shapes the future of architecture. Working alongside our partners, they’re not just absorbing knowledge – they’re applying it, challenging it, and using it to fuel their own ideas. That’s what makes this experience so powerful.”

We look forward to building on this momentum as we continue shaping the next generation of digital designers.