MSc Study Week: Bricklaying

During the Study Week all the students (and some staff) had the opportunity to go down to the Oxford Brookes Workshop* and get some brick-laying experience from an expert. Our thanks go to Peter Hill for coming in for the day. He did a brilliant job of teaching our students not only how to lay a brick, but all the important things to look for in a good bricklayer.

So, why were the students doing this? Mark Austin, Programme Leader explains: to become a successful project manager you need a good knowledge of all the different trades you'll be working with. And one of the best ways to learn is through practise. So, the MSc students were set the 'simple' task of laying a brick wall. As you can see they discovered it is a lot harder than it looks! The Editor (that's me) was watching and took some photos of the action:

Learning how to stand

Practising trowel control

Getting the position just right

Mixing the mortar

Result!

*The Workshop itself is home to a vast array of equipment and materials and is used by staff and students  from the Department of Real Estate and Construction and the Department of Architecture. The Workshop is a beautiful place and will feature in its own blog entry very soon.