Hooke Park Digital Fabrication Technician

REPORTS TO: Head of Physical Production and Academic Resources

HOURS: Full-time; 35 hours Monday to Friday; 9am- 5pm

THE ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION

The Architectural Association was founded in 1847, opening as a day school in 1901. The AA is committed to public benefit attained by the learning, teaching, discussion and promotion of architecture. The School is recognised as a worldwide leader in architectural education, with graduates that include many of the world’s leading architects, scholars, critics and educators. The academic and professional programmes of study at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, up to and including doctoral level, are validated by external professional and academic bodies.

The AA is made up of countless projects, personalities and audiences. The AA is unique in that we are more than just a school but a worldwide association, made up of members and visitors and an unrivalled public programme of lectures, exhibitions, publications and special events, all of which set the backdrop for full-time foundation, undergraduate - and graduate-level study at our campuses in London and Dorset. In addition, each year short courses and global schools in the AA Visiting School bring together students and teachers in more than 50 locations across five continents. Whether at Bedford Square, Hooke Park or abroad the AA’s teachers and staff provide students with expertise, encouragement and support across all levels of education. Given the fact that 85 per cent of our students (and a similar percentage of tutors) come to London and Dorset from abroad every autumn, we really are a school unlike any other.

HOOKE PARK

Hooke Park is the Architectural Association’s woodland site in Dorset, southwest England. The 150-hectare working forest is owned and operated by the AA and contains a growing educational facility for design, workshop, construction and landscape-focused activities. Underlying these activities is the opportunity to develop a critical and contemporary, rural focused discourse – foregrounding the challenges of climate change.

The Architectural Association took on Hooke Park in 2002, but the campus has a 30-year history of experimental timber construction, from its establishment by the Parnham Trust as a School for Woodland Industries in the 1980’s. The campus is widely celebrated as a centre for architectural research and innovation, and it boasts remarkable and world-renowned works of architecture which offer a valuable legacy and ongoing point of reference for today’s students.

Hooke Park is used by the AA throughout the year for activities in three categories: visits by London-based units; the Hooke Park-based Design + Make graduate school programme; and for Visiting School short courses. As well as being integral to the AA, Hooke Park is also part of the larger cultural and making community of West Dorset.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Hooke Park seeks a dedicated and skilled digital fabrication technician to join the team and work alongside our academic staff, students and visiting groups in facilitating fabrication activities at Hooke Park and becoming an integral part of the AA’s material and fabrication research in Dorset.

The ethos of the Architectural Association is to create a safe and supportive environment for students and staff to undertake their work. Technical staff are fundamental to achieving this aim and their role is to support students with their architectural fabrication work.

The role involves the technical operation of the large-scale production and digital fabrication workshop at Hooke Park (The Big Shed), supporting students and staff with fabrication research. The Big Shed houses facilties for advanced fabrication including a large flatbed 3 axis CNC and a custom built robotics cell, with a 7-axis KUKA robotic arm and several bespoke tools for use in large scale architectural production and fabrication research. The role will involve the running of CNC operations (training can be provided) and the production of building scale components. You will also be in charge of running and maintaining the 3D printer.

The made work at Hooke Park combines traditional making techniques with digital processess, and as such the ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate a range of experience in both analogue and digital fabrication, as well as experience with a variety of wood and metal machines and hand and power tools.

We are looking for an individual who has a strong enthusiasm for making, with a demonstrated competency in digital fabrication, as well as a broad knowledge of analogue skills in a variety of materials, techniques and processes – and enjoys sharing their making expertise with students.The applicant should have experience as a fabricator or technician and have a portfolio of design through making and prototyping work. Experince of working in a Higher Education workshop is an advantage.A core focus of the work we do at Hooke Park relates to working in timber, and a broad experience with woodworking / timber construction would be highly desirable.

A very important aspect of the role is supervising and enforcing a high standard of Health and Safety and good workshop practice. You will be working within a small team of academic staff, makers and workshop technicians.You must be good at working within a team and self-directed when necessary. The role will require a degree of flexibility to work occasional Saturdays as weekend workshop cover (taken in lieu).

HOW TO APPLY:

Please email the below documents to recruitment@aaschool.ac.uk (via the ‘Apply’ button above) by the closing date of 24^TH JULY, MID-DAY stating the job title in the subject heading.

• AA Application Form
• Cover Letter / Email highlighting why you feel you are the right person for the role. This should be no more than two-pages
• Full CV

INTERVIEWS WILL TAKE PLACE WEEK COMMENCING 29^TH JULY 2024. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.Informal enquires should be addressed to recruitment@aaschool.ac.uk or 02078874110.

We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community. Reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

Please note that it will not be possible for the AA School to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for successful candidates. Therefore, the appointed candidate will need to be eligible to work in the UK for the duration of their employment with the AA School, in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

Thank you for your interest in the AA and this role.