Studio Social

Built By Us grows diversity and inclusion in the built environment sector. Their award-winning team is committed to building the world they want to see, and they do this by sharing knowledge and expertise through regular career events, working with employers to improve inclusion, facilitating mentorship programs and by connecting entrepreneurs with professionals.

As an avid supporter and sponsor of the Shape programme, Surface Matter collaborated with Built By Us to create Studio Social - a series of events exploring social and environmental sustainability. Serving as a space to discuss social and spatial justice, community development, sustainability, equity and how we can combine the design of physical environments with the design of social infrastructure. Studio Social is open to all and we welcome new perspectives with a networking opportunity.

If you missed the first, you can catch Studio Social Launch Q+A and Future Shapers - notes on inclusion panel talk from SDS 2023 below, or follow Built By Us on Eventbrite for future events. You can also head over to BBU to catch some mentor/mentee stories, including one from FLUID Mentee, Dianez Pilon.

Studio Social Launch + Q+A

The Launch event, opened by Danna Walker, Founder and CEO of Built By Us, congratulates SHAPE and FLUID graduates with talks from mentors and mentees Dianez, Konstantina, Giulia and Jasmine. Closing with an interview with Dr Neal Shasore, Head of School and Chief Executive Officer of the London School of Architecture and Trustee of the Architectural Heritage Fund and C20 Society, Neal and Danna talk about his architectural historian training, research and writing, and his passion for diversifying architectural education, heritage and practice.

Future Shapers - notes on inclusion

Surface Matter hosts the second in the series of Studio Social - a series of events in collaboration with Built by Us exploring social and environmental sustainability. Future Shapers – notes on inclusion is a panel talk on the Gallery Stage, led by Danna Walker, Founder and CEO of Built by Us. Alongside Scott from Surface Matter, Stephanie Edwards, Co-Founder of Urban Symbiotics and Katie Rudin, Modern Methods of Construction Advisor at Akerlof discuss social + environmental sustainability, and how we can better build and enhance communities, equity and inspiration.