Narrative Practice

[NP Sessions / 3rd April] MSMR Architects will kindly be hosting our next mentoring evening! 🙏🏽 Join us for in-person mentoring, an office tour, and networking. Perfect for young creatives from underrepresented backgrounds to discuss design projects or simply chat about your careers within the built environment. Click the link in bio to book your spot. Huge thanks to True Tyler, Tom Everall and Sarah Bass at MSMR for supporting the programme! — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on promoting diversity in the built environment. Sessions is its flagship programme, providing short- and long-term mentoring to underrepresented young professionals. NP has engaged with over 830 individuals and earned recognition from the Architects’ Journal, RIBA, and the Thornton Education Trust and the University of Greenwich for their work. Best, Dhruv the NP Sessions Team 🙏🏽 #MentoringMatters #WorkplaceMentoring #Mentoring #DesignReview #ArchitectureResearch #UrbanDesign #LandscapeDesign #TransportDesign #DiversityinBuiltEnvironment #EDI #CPD #ContinuingProfessionalDevelopment #DiversityInArchitecture #Diversity #InclusionMatters #GenderEquality #WomenLeaders #DesignDiversity #EmpoweringYouth

Last week Jestico + Whiles kindly hosted our monthly mentoring evening! 🙏🏽 We hosted 30 young creatives from underrepresented backgrounds for an evening of mentoring, informal networking, and an insightful office tour by Adriana Keast. It was brilliant to see their studio space reimagined as a place of learning, collaboration, and opportunity. Huge thanks to the mentoring team at J+W for your energy and time! Anastasia Kalaitz; Charity Whitehead; Dino Cambanos; Mariia Shirokikh; Nikola Yanev; Sam Wong; Victoria Haslam; Athina Stylianidi; James Anderson. 🙏🏽 Additionally, we extend our gratitude to our wider practice network volunteers Shazia Dhalla, Minyoung Choi, Shradha Kohli, Pakyin Lee, Yara Taha, Jim Pope, Rebecca Fish and of course, to the fantastic Narrative Practice team. — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on promoting diversity in the built environment. Sessions is its flagship programme, providing short- and long-term mentoring to underrepresented young professionals. NP has engaged with over 850 individuals and earned recognition from the Architects’ Journal, RIBA, and the Thornton Education Trust for their work. Best, Dhruv & the Sessions Team 🙏🏽 #MentoringMatters #WorkplaceMentoring #Mentoring #DesignReview #ArchitectureResearch #UrbanDesign #LandscapeDesign #TransportDesign #DiversityinBuiltEnvironment #EDI #CPD #ContinuingProfessionalDevelopment #DiversityInArchitecture #Diversity #InclusionMatters #GenderEquality #WomenLeaders #DesignDiversity #EmpoweringYouth

I’ve been mentoring people all my adult life, to help them develop their skills and learning and authentically maximise their potential. There’s nothing quite like mentoring – and its impact is undeniable: mentees are 78% more likely to engage in civic participation and 130% more likely to hold leadership positions within their fields. Over time, my own mentors have given me exciting signposts, helping to empower me and to further galvanise my sense of purpose. The significance of mentoring for those engaged in the fields of architecture and related built environment practices is more important than ever – both for those seeking mentoring, and those keen to get insights about how to shape their mentoring skills and give something back. So I’m excited that Dhruv Gulabchande, founder of the award-winning non-profit mentoring and research platform Narrative Practice, will be speaking on this topic at Temple Bar London, St Paul's, on Mon 8 April. Looking forward to chairing this event! Please join us! ➡️ Mon 8 April, 18:25hrs 🔑 Tickets: https://lnkd.in/eia6HGYQ Dhruv will define the precise role and value of mentoring, and spell out its beneficial impacts, including creating invaluable long-term opportunities that exist outside the traditional frameworks of academia and practice work. He'll draw on the lived experience of following the typical journey of a Global Majority individual pursuing a narrative research-led focus from academia to practice, and beyond, delving into the story of Narrative Practice and its evolving research and mentoring programme.   Data from the Architects Registration Board and the Department for Education illustrates persistent and systemic underrepresentation in the profession. Emerging from the pandemic, less than 0.5% of UK secondary school students identifying as Global Majority individuals progressed to study architecture at university, further amplifying structural inequalities. Narrative Practice’s mentoring provides a vital support to help empower students and young practitioners from Global Majority backgrounds by addressing this inequality. Dhruv is an architect and Associate Director at HFM Architects. He teaches at Central Saint Martins and Syracuse University London, and previously held roles at the University of Sheffield and University of Brighton. In 2024 he was selected as a RIBA Journal Rising Star in recognition of his work, and appointed to the Curation Panel for the 2025 London Festival of Architecture this June. www.narpr.co   Instagram @narrativepractice LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/eBVQzduH Images: Narrative Practice sessions at Arup, Levitt Bernstein, Civic Engineers (photos: Dhruv Gulabchande); WilkinsonEyre (photo: James Budgen).

Exciting news: we have won the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Award at the University of Greenwich Alumni Awards 2025! 🙏🏽 Incredibly appreciative of the practices, institutions and individuals who have supported us along the way — and of course to every member of the NP mentor team; George Aboagye Williams (Greenwich Alumni) Evana Ahamed (Greenwich Alumni) Elena Slezaite (Greenwich Alumni) Luis Rojas-Paipilla (Greenwich Alumni) Yasmin Freeman (Greenwich Alumni) Joseph R. Goodwin (Greenwich Alumni) Parisa S. (Greenwich Alumni) Freddie Bunoan Aleluya (Greenwich Alumni) Rebecca Fish (Greenwich Alumni) Niraj Shah (Greenwich Alumni) Chirag Desai Sarah Bass Adam Tarasewicz Emily Cater sarmad suhail Elliott Wang Semi Han Luxmi Nanthakumar Mayce Arebi Molly Jayne Hughes Maria Christodoulou Yara Taha Karen Young Hammad Haider Jerry Florez Jim Pope The University of Greenwich said “This award acknowledges the dedication and hard work of the nominees but also serves as an inspiration for continued commitment to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. Narrative Practice embodies this commitment through its overarching aim is to improve diversity and representation within the architecture profession through mentoring support. By creating dedicated spaces for women, individuals with disabilities, and those from Black, Asian, and Global Majority Ethnicity backgrounds within the architectural space has created lasting change within the architectural sphere.” The award was presented by Professor Jane Harrington at the Annual Supporter Reception where we also celebrated the 10th anniversary of our Stockwell Street building. Finally a massive thank you to Mary Ivers, Carmen T., Sophie Hassell-Richardson, Rahesh Ram and the Greenwich Alumni team! #MentoringMatters #DiversityInArchitecture #EDI #InclusionMatters #WomenLeaders #DesignDiversity #EmpoweringYouth

[NP Sessions / 13th March] Jestico + Whiles will kindly be hosting our next mentoring evening! 🙏🏽 Join us for in-person mentoring, an office tour, and networking. Perfect for young creatives from underrepresented backgrounds to discuss design projects, portfolios, CVs, or simply chat about the built environment. Click the link in bio to book your spot. Huge thanks to Adriana Keast at J+W for supporting this event! — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on promoting diversity in the built environment. Sessions is its flagship programme, providing short- and long-term mentoring to underrepresented young professionals. NP has engaged with over 830 individuals and earned recognition from the Architects’ Journal, RIBA, and the TET (ThorntonEducationTrust) and the University of Greenwich for their work. Best, Dhruv and the Sessions Team 🙏🏽 #MentoringMatters #WorkplaceMentoring #Mentoring #DesignReview #ArchitectureResearch #UrbanDesign #LandscapeDesign #TransportDesign #DiversityinBuiltEnvironment #EDI #CPD #ContinuingProfessionalDevelopment #DiversityInArchitecture #Diversity #InclusionMatters #GenderEquality #WomenLeaders #DesignDiversity #EmpoweringYouth

Reflecting on our involvement with London Careers Festival last week: We turned NLA The London Centre into a buzzy hub of skills workshops and activities for 85 students interested in built environment careers. Huge thanks to: Patrick Mckeogh Pipers Model Makers Dhruv Gulabchande Parisa S. Narrative Practice Annie Simpson Build The Way C.I.C and volunteers Laura Cassullo, Sam Wigginton, Emily Southcott, Victor Chujor, Charlotte Allen, Rehma H., Sireish Nankani, Shaun Matthews, Jean Jacques Bell Hundreds of young people also visited our neighbours the Guildhall for a careers and apprenticeship expo where we ensured built environment careers were represented. With thanks to Stride Treglown, Multiplex, DP9 Limited, Ballymore, Places for London, GIA Surveyors, Hayes Davidson, Westminster City Council for taking part. Thanks to Spencer Lu for helping organise and Jamie Hannon FRSA and Alice Rogers at City of London Corporation for getting us involved! #FutureCityMakers #NLA #Skills #LondonCareersFestival

On Friday, Temple Bar London opened their doors to 20 young creatives from underrepresented backgrounds for an evening of mentoring, informal networking, including an insightful historical introduction to TB. We created an opportunity for collaboration and a vital third space for young people to gather and learn. Massive thanks to Lucy Bullivant PhD Hon FRIBA and Grant Smith at Temple Bar for supporting this event! Additional to Hammad Haider from Foster+Partners for his continued engagement with the programme. A special thanks to Parisa S. for her significant contribution organising the evening! — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on promoting diversity in the built environment. Sessions is its flagship programme, providing short- and long-term mentoring to underrepresented young professionals. NP has engaged with over 830 individuals and has earned recognition from the Architects’ Journal, RIBA Journal, and the Thornton Education Trust for its ongoing research work. — #Best, Dhruv & the Sessions Team 🙏🏽 #MentoringMatters #WorkplaceMentoring #Mentoring #DesignReview #ArchitectureResearch #UrbanDesign #LandscapeDesign #TransportDesign #DiversityinBuiltEnvironment #EDI #CPD #ContinuingProfessionalDevelopment #DiversityInArchitecture #Diversity #InclusionMatters #GenderEquality #WomenLeaders #DesignDiversity #EmpoweringYouth RIBA

NP were invited earlier this week to take part in the London Careers Festival by NLA at The London Centre; running an interactive workshop titled: Breaking Ground — Practical Guidance to Starting Your Architecture Journey. Through open Q&A and a Myth-Busting Wall, students explored what a career in architecture really looks like — asking about study routes, drawing skills, alternative career paths, and even whether architects work on video games! It was great to see such curiosity from young people keen to learn more about the profession. Sessions like these really help to break down barriers and provide tangible next steps for those interested in architecture. Big thanks to Sam Wigginton from Stride Treglown; Grace Simmonds, Spencer Lu and Eliza Grosvenor from NLA/LFA for their support. Workshop coordinated by Parisa S. and Dhruv Gulabchande from the NP team. #MentoringMatters #DesignWorkshop #DesignDiversity #EmpoweringYouth

📢 Architecture Apprenticeship Opportunities – Levels 6 & 7 We are currently recruiting for two fantastic Architecture Apprenticeships at two fantastic employers at Level 6 & Level 7! This is a great opportunity for aspiring architects to gain hands-on experience while working towards professional qualifications. Please share and promote these opportunities with anyone interested in joining the sector! Level 6 Levitt Bernstein: https://lnkd.in/e4cTAnKX Level 7 Zaha Hadid Architects: https://lnkd.in/easQ5RXx #Architecture #Apprenticeships #CareerOpportunities #Level6 #Level7 #Hiring #London #NAW #LSBU

"I mentor because I know what it’s like to not have access to guidance in a field that feels out of reach. Growing up, I didn’t have the financial stability or professional networks that could make architecture seem attainable." Architect Dhruv Gulabchande, has been part of the Arts Emergency network for several years and has volunteered as a mentor three years in a row! We asked him some questions about his route in to the industry, what his advice would be for anyone interested in a career in architecture and why he thinks mentoring is important. Read the full interview 👉 https://lnkd.in/ebcrUQSY