SENIOR secondary pupils from Oldmachar Academy, Fraserburgh Academy and Elgin High School, were among the finalists in TechFest’s latest programme, Blueprint Challenge: A Future High Street project.
The teams – O.I.T, Astriks Way, Broch Design Lab and Elgin High Team – participated in a special online ceremony to present their ideas to a panel of expert judges.
The judges were looking for ideas that tackled ‘modern high street problems’ such as architecture, power generation and consumption, economic stability, and wellbeing.
The brief tasked pupils with bringing energy, technology and nature together to create future net zero urban areas using innovative technology to imagine a high street where buying your favourite products leads to more nature, not less.
The students created diverse teams showcasing different skill sets such as engineering, architecture and art and design.
Supported by Bluewater – the London based private equity firm specialising in global energy – S5 and S6 students across Dundee, Moray, the Highlands and the North-east were invited to redesign their high street as part of the project.
Teams from Aberdeen, Carnoustie, Elgin and Fraserburgh took part with Carnoustie High School taking first place.
Considerations such as how high streets will be powered are essential to the energy mix of future towns and cities and played an important role in this project.
The finalists said participating and presenting their solutions to the judges was a fantastic experience.
They commended the project, which prompted them to combine traditional high street buildings and features with a future look at a town or city with sustainability at its heart.
Sarah Chew, TechFest managing director said: “The designs were so inspirational and choosing a winner was extremely difficult for the judges.
“The students took the brief and really used their imagination to offer some fantastic ideas and solutions.
“As we move towards a more sustainable future, preserving the high street and equipping it for future generations is a fundamental part of securing our towns and cities for growth and expansion.”
Frazer Blyth, director and member of the ESG committee at Bluewater added: “It has been a pleasure to see these young minds tackle head on one of the biggest challenges our cities and towns face today.
“Their consideration for not just the retail experience, but also the environment and how humans interact with each other is to be commended.
“We have been delighted to partner with the amazing team at TechFest on this project and continue to support the important work they do with young people in Scotland.”
TechFest wishes to thank the School of Architecture at RGU for supporting the project and the judges for giving their time – Frazer Blyth, director and member of the ESG committee at Bluewater; Dr Gillian White, net zero consultant; Dr Quazi Zaman, architect, urban designer and lecturer at Robert Gordon University; Suzanne Rhind, strategic town centre’s executive and Moray Barber, head of tax at EY Aberdeen and owner of TEDx Aberdeen, and Sam Johnson, a fourth year psychology student.
TechFest is an Aberdeen-based charity which aims to engage young people in the four main STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and encourage them to go on to follow a career which uses these skills by demonstrating that they are both fun and relevant in day-to-day life.
Each year, TechFest runs the highly popular TechFest festival which attracts tens of thousands of children and adults to a series of STEM-based events in and around Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, as well as a year-round programme of educational events for schools and young people.
