Menu:

Sebastian Gugalka

Promising young architectural assistant, soon to qualify as an architect, Sebastian Gugalka, studied GNVQ and HND at Bradford College from 1997 to 2001.

Sebastian GugalkaFollowing his studies at Bradford College Sebastian achieved a First Class Honours degree in Architecture from the University of Manchester. He currently works for Stride Treglown Chapman Robinson Architects in Manchester.

“I started my 4 years of study at Bradford College back in 1997, which consisted of 2 courses. After taking my GCSEs at Bingley Grammar I came to Bradford College to undertake a GNVQ (Advanced) in Construction and the Built Environment for 2 years, which led onto a further 2 years studying a HND in Building Studies. The choice of courses was driven by a continuous passion for design, technology and construction. Undertaking these courses made me very aware of the professions that could be undertaken within the construction industry. Subjects such as Construction Law, surveying and structures were of particular interest, the later became very useful knowledge for my university studies.

After leaving Bradford College I knew that I wanted to be an architect. To achieve this I first took a BA (Hons) degree in Architecture at the University of Manchester. Over the three years at BA level I continuously developed my design skills and ethos and started to implement them during my year in practice at Chapman Robinson Architects, where in-turn I learnt new design techniques. I returned to Manchester University to finish my second part of studies by taking a BArch.

During the first year of this course I participated in an Erasmus exchange at the Poletechnika Krakowska in Poland. This opened my eyes to other design and teaching methods that I had not come across back home. The most obvious being the description of form and space through the creation of sculpture. My final year ended with a thesis project based in Barcelona. The scheme was a School of Contemporary Dance, which fuses into the surrounding dense context which is carved by narrow streets.

I am currently finishing my professional studies with Stride Treglown Chapman Robinson Architects where I am working on various schemes. The two main projects are Pimhole, Bury a 105 housing regeneration proposal and an 18 housing scheme in Burnley. I am endlessly developing and learning new design ideas and solutions fuelled and guided by my mentors within the practice.”

Photograph supplied by Sebastian Gugalka