Accelerate

Established by Open City – the charity set up to make London’s architecture more accessible and equitable to everyone - Accelerate works with marginalised young people between 16-18 years old, introducing them to careers in architecture and city making, boosting diversity in the sector and democratising the processes concerning our built-environment.

Based on the belief that the architectural fabric of a city should reflect the communities that it serves, Accelerate aims to place representatives of those communities in key decision-making positions, giving them a voice in the shaping of the built environment as well as a stake in it.

Hundreds of 16-18-year-olds have taken part over the last 10 years, 75% of them securing places to study architecture and related subjects at university. Through a combination of skills development workshops, one-to-one professional mentoring and application guidance, the programme has helped more than 400 young Londoners from historically marginalised backgrounds gain access to careers in the built-environment sector.  Accelerate currently works in partnership with the Bartlett, UCL and Central Saint Martins, UAL to offer 60 students places on the programme, and will be expanding to include 30 more places at Kingston University next year.

Accelerate’s mission to make architecture more accessible and representative strongly resonates with our values at Zetteler (and with the purpose of Design Can), so we’re delighted to support the programme in any way we can – primarily spreading awareness of the extraordinary ambition and impact of this hugely important initiative.

open-city.org.uk/accelerate