Architecture student Violeta Vasileva shares her experience of working on the Drawn North virtual architecture exhibition, which replaced the annual physical exhibition due to COVID-19. Find out how Violeta worked as part of a virtual team to get the exhibition live.

How did you initially become involved in the Drawn North project?

The Drawn North virtual architecture exhibition was developed to replace the initially planned physical exhibition on campus in the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment. I was asked to be part of the student team as I was very involved in the unit project on the revitalised Aberdeen Waterfront masterplan, which was one of the projects being exhibited in the Drawn North exhibition.

What unit project did you work on and can you give a brief synopsis?

I was working on a project for the Aberdeen Waterfront ‘Living Edge’ and focused on Media Production Studios and Offices. The project has the potential to bring a lot of income and jobs to Aberdeen as it has been acknowledged that there is a need for more film production studios in Scotland.

Additionally, as a conclusion for my thesis, I had also been a member of the Stage 6 Masterplan Team, which was assembled to redesign the Aberdeen Waterfront Masterplan from the previous year. Subsequently, I had created a short animation film to represent the character of the redevelopment.

What did you think about the virtual architecture exhibition concept?  

It was a great way to end our 6-year journey on the Master of Architecture course at RGU, as we didn’t have the opportunity to create a physical exhibition due to the pandemic. It marked our progress through all the years of hard work and celebrated the beginning of our careers in the construction industry. The university gave us a platform to showcase our work the way we imagined, and it is something we were grateful to participate in.

How was it working as part of a virtual team, virtually?

Remote working was challenging, but we managed to organise ourselves. We separated into smaller teams and stayed on top of it all. Our collaboration with our tutors at the university was a great help. Revisiting the masterplan meant that we had to put together all individually developed projects in our unit, which gave us a good overall understanding of the work we were going to present.

Having the opportunity to liaise with the RGU Marketing and Communications team, as well as the Aberdeen Art Gallery and the Pier Arts Centre, gave us a valuable experience for the future.

Did you learn any new skills?

I developed my skills in web design and editing as well as creative design and  was involved in the designing of the virtual exhibition logo. We also managed to prepare for a remote working environment while the pandemic is still ongoing, by communicating via Microsoft Teams and other platforms.

Are you happy with the result?

There is always potential for improvement, but I am happy with the outcome. The team worked well together, and we successfully tackled our tasks. It turned out to be a success, and we have received great reviews so far.

Find out more about the virtual architecture exhibition and view the Aberdeen Waterfront ‘Living Edge’ project on the Drawn North website.

Violeta Vasileva

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Studying at RGU during COVID-19