"The Crucible has given me time to think about my research"
Dr Lesley McIntyre, Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Built Environment at Northumbria University
“The Crucible was really important for me. It was great to be given time out of the normal academic teaching and admin day, both physically and mentally. It gave me ‘permission’ to think about my research and also gave me skills to plan and balance workload.
What I loved about the Crucible was that people from all sorts of different disciplines gave input into the programme – for me, this was about how technologies and architectural concepts could work together to support people in buildings. I am still in contact with many of my Crucible peers; as ECRs we draw on support from each other. This support network was, and continues to be, really helpful to me.
I studied architecture at university, and worked in a variety of practices in the UK and New York including, most recently, a high profile practice. However, I became restless and took an opportunity to study for a PhD that focused on themes of way-finding, visual impairment and technologies. Since then I have focused my career on the boundaries between human experience, technology, architecture and the built environment.
Taking the skills I have learnt from the Crucible, I am currently writing my first grant. I also was invited to Glasgow CHI this year, based on a project we had funded through CHERISH-DE. The project was inspired by incidents such as the Notre Dame Cathedral fire, and looks at whether a robot could assess and survey buildings at risk, rather than a human. As the only architectural designer in the room, it was very good to have confidence from the communication skills gained at the Crucible!
Crucible has given me time to think about my research and I regularly check back over my crucible notes to keep me focused."