Work Experience on the Aylesham, Peckham team.
The Berkeley team are delighted to be working closely with young Southwark residents introducing various career and apprenticeship opportunities within the Built Environment sector.
We recently welcomed Salamat Yusuf, a Peckham resident, to complete two-weeks work experience at dRMM, lead architects on the Aylesham project–as part of our wider programme of support for local training and employment opportunities.You can read more about Salamat experience below.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself?
A: I am Salamat Yusuf and interior designer with experience in product design. I was initially born in Lagos, Nigeria but I have resided in London for 18 years. I am a current student at University of the Arts London studying postgraduate diploma in interior design.
Q: How did you hear about the opportunity?
A: I heard about this opportunity from a work coach, who has initially saw my circumstances and offered to help.
Q: How did you find the overall process of enrolling onto the work experience placement?
A: Enrolling to the work experience was delightful, simply because I gained so much knowledge of the perks and requirements for the company.
Q: Who did you do the work experience with and how long for?
A: I did work experience with such an iconic architecture firm. dRMM who is known for their amazing geometric abstract architectural buildings that are across the globe. I did a 2 week work experience with the DRMM, it bought me so much joy and they made feel welcomed.
Q: What were the top 3 things you learnt/key takeaways?
A: Top three things that I learnt is that:
- It is okay to take a break when needed.
- Communication is key for collaborating in a big architectural firm such as DRMM.
- Discipline and structure are key elements that are needed in order for you to progress and for the team to gain clarity.
Q: What was the most interesting/best part of the experience?
A: The best part about the work experience is that I got to create a conceptual piece and design a mood board for the people of Peckham, being raised in Peckham my whole life.
Q: As a local resident, how did it feel to work with the team redeveloping the Aylesham Centre?
A: As a local resident I’m intrigued to see the final execution of the redevelopment of Aylesham centre, I hope that it is inclusive to physically disabled people as it is a crucial issue today in society as majority of the people can’t use the stairs in for example Peckham station
Q: Do you feel more connected to the Aylesham Centre redevelopment now that you’ve had the work experience placement?
A: I have always felt connected to the redevelopment of Aylesham centre simply because I grew up around Peckham. My work experience made me gain more knowledge on the perks and how the collaborators would like to execute this plan, which was amazing!
Q: How do you think this has helped you in your career/future?
A: It helped me to navigate the structure of my future endeavours as a student who is skilful, adaptable and very imaginative. Interior design/ architecture in this sense made it appealing to me as I have always wanted to become and architect/ interior designer. I am still learning and architecture and design an understand this is an ever learning process.
Q: Would you recommend this work experience placement to any of your friends/family? If so, why?
A: I would definitely recommend this work experience to a few friends who study architecture and interior design, simply because of how welcoming and dedicated the company I worked for is.
Get involved
You’re welcome to stop by our Consultation Hub (Unit 15A of the Aylesham Centre) on Tuesdays (1pm-5pm) and Fridays (9am-1pm). We hope to see you soon!
Alternatively, please do get in touch via the contact details below if you have any questions/comments.
📧 hello@theayleshamcentre.community
📞 0800 368 7363
