August 15, 2024

Interning with the Tibbalds Team

Written by
Tibbalds

This summer we welcomed Vasiliki into an internship with the planning team as part of our annual programme of internships at Tibbalds. Vasiliki tells us how the experience has been for her.

Opinion piece

For my undergraduate degree I studied Anthropology and Sociology, and due to my interest in urban planning, space making and health, I ended up writing my dissertation on spatial and urban anthropology. Having this social background taught me the importance of community engagement and the complexity and dynamism between people and places.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of my experience was the youth engagement

I am currently a master’s student at UCL studying Sustainable Urbanism at the Bartlett school of Planning. Already acquainted with the social aspect of urban planning, this year I focused on the environmental, ecological and sustainable aspects of urban planning and design. When applying for the internship, what stood out to me in Tibbalds was their emphasis on creating spaces for people and nature alike. I felt that my mixed background in social sciences and urban planning, would be embraced in Tibbalds, given the company’s people-centred approach to urban planning and design.

From the first day, I had the chance to participate in numerous consultations and workshops. I also had the chance to go to two site visits, assist in the creation of a design code, help with the design of a historic road, and participate in two youth engagement workshops.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of my experience was the youth engagement workshops where I assisted with their organisation and had the chance to participate and contribute to both events. This events highlighted to me the importance of community engagement and consultation, especially, the inclusion of the voices of young people when altering urban spaces or creating new developments.

Coming to Tibbalds, I knew I wanted to further develop my design skills, and I am happy to say that I had plenty of chances to do so!

I also really enjoyed assisting with the re-creation of the layout and context of a public health design code, by introducing more graphics, visuals and case studies. I am particularly interested in health and urban planning, so I am glad I was given the chance to take a bit more responsibility and be creative for this task!

Finally, I was also appointed two design exercises. For the first, I re-designed the layout of a development to create a more accessible road system. For the second, I helped with the design of a historic road, emphasising transport routes, key buildings and active frontages. The discussions and feedback that I received for these exercises made me understand a lot about the importance of building, parking, road and green space positioning in developments. Coming to Tibbalds, I knew I wanted to further develop my design skills, and I am happy to say that I had plenty of chances to do so! I feel more confident in my ability to visualise planning concepts and ideas when using design software.

Having now completed my internship, I am glad to have had the chance to work with Tibbalds. Throughout all the different projects that I worked on, Tibbalds’ emphasis on people, nature and accessibility was always present. I felt welcomed and encouraged by everyone to participate in different projects and try out new skills throughout my internship, giving me the chance to be exposed to an array of urban planning and design disciplines.

I really enjoyed these six weeks as an intern at Tibbalds, and that is mainly thanks to the team that welcomed me and guided me throughout the process. I appreciate the conversations, insights, advice and feedback and I will cherish them going forward.