With a passion for supporting and creating opportunities for talented young people, Squire & Partners recognise that diversity within the built environment is needed.

So why Blueprint for All?

“We have a number of educational programmes and initiatives that we support as a practice. Partnering with Blueprint for All aligned with our goals to provide support, advice and guidance to the next generation of architects, with a particular focus on improving diversity and inclusivity in the profession and creating opportunities for young people. 

In the built environment we need a diverse workforce to truly design spaces that are for everyone. We all need to be a part of addressing the imbalance in order to make a difference and create role models for future generations. “

How have they supported Blueprint for All over the years?

Squire & Partners have supported Blueprint for All in a number of ways over the last 4 years, including Building Futures mentoring, CV workshops, construction site visits and online talks. In 2018, they designed and built The Designers’ Dreamscape – an installation at Designjunction which hosted Blueprint for All’s architecture student mentoring programme. In 2021, they mentored a group of Blueprint for All students who designed a London Marathon Mile Marker.  

It doesn’t stop there. The architecture company have also created exclusive summer placement programme’s from Blueprint for All architecture students. In July 2021, Cyprian Boateng joined the student’s for a month’s placement. It was such a success that Cyprian continues to work at the practice as a Part II architectural assistant. In July 2022, Simon Omooba joined us with plans to move to the US at the end of his placement, however he will continue to with Squire & Partners remotely from his new location for the rest of the year. The programme has proved incredibly successful and is something we look forward to continuing every summer. 

Has the partnership had a positive impact?

“We feel that the support and mentoring has had a positive effect on the students, and we hope that it has given them confidence to pursue a career in architecture.” 

Not convinced? Hear it from our student’s!

“The support working with Squire & Partners and Blueprint for All has been fantastic. I started at Squire & Partners in late July 2021 and within a month, I became full–time. Working with Blueprint for All, I can see the confidence they are instilling in their trustees and the networks they are creating between young people. It has been especially interesting to reconnect with Simon in a new capacity from our footballing past. I have no doubt that the Trust will inspire a whole new influx of talented young people.” 

-Cyprian Boateng, Architectural Assistant and 2021 summer placement student at Squire & Partners

“I was extremely eager when I saw that Squire & Partners were looking for summer placements exclusively for members of the Blueprint for All scheme. Albeit a short period of time, it has been a great experience and I’ve benefited from it immensely. It was also great to see Cyprian here on my first day, as we both played academy football as youngsters and have reconnected over ten years later. It’s been great to learn more about his time here on placement and his reasoning for continuing full-time.”

–Simon Omooba, 2022 summer placement student at Squire & Partners

Our partnerships are not only beneficial for our young people…

“As with all mentoring programmes, the benefits go both ways. We gain insight into the difficulties that underrepresented students experience, learning from it in the hopes of counteracting these obstacles and creating opportunities for students to learn new skills and gain insight into the profession.”