I’m Gurnam Singh Bharaj, an ARB-registered and RIBA Chartered Architect, and the founder and director of Architects Inspire. I continue to work as a practising architect and personally lead all Architect-Inspire workshops in schools.
I come from a family of carpenters and tradespeople and was immersed in practical making and site work from an early age. During school holidays and later while studying for my architecture degree, I worked on site between academic terms, grounding design thinking in real construction, materials and buildability.
Before qualifying as an architect, I ran a design-and-build construction company, specialising in domestic extensions and alterations, delivering projects from design through to completion.
Training and mentoring are central to my work. Within my construction business, I employed and trained apprentices through formal NVQ Level 2 and Level 3 Carpentry and Joinery programmes at Leeds College of Building, alongside time-served apprentices gaining practical experience on live projects. As an architect, I have continued this commitment by employing and mentoring architecture students and graduates.
My company has worked on local authority frameworks and delivered numerous primary school refurbishment projects, giving me experience of working safely and professionally in educational environments. I personally led the business to achieve ISO 9001 accreditation and Investors in People recognition, with all staff holding the required CSCS health and safety certification.
Architect-Inspire grew from a desire to pass on these skills—particularly when teaching my own son some basic principles of design and construction. The programme brings together my experience as a builder, architect and mentor to deliver safe, engaging and curriculum-aligned architecture, construction and STEAM workshops for schools.
The aim is simple: to give pupils hands-on experiences that build confidence, curiosity and teamwork, while helping them understand school learning across Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths—from early ideas such as shape, materials and making in the early years, through to geometry, forces, structures, systems and problem-solving at secondary level—all through practical, real-world application.

Our mission is to deliver cross-curricular, hands-on learning that connects the classroom to the real world through architecture, construction, and full STEAM. We design workshops for every stage of learning — from Early Years through to Key Stage 5 — so pupils can experience the same big ideas at the right level for their age.
For younge
Our mission is to deliver cross-curricular, hands-on learning that connects the classroom to the real world through architecture, construction, and full STEAM. We design workshops for every stage of learning — from Early Years through to Key Stage 5 — so pupils can experience the same big ideas at the right level for their age.
For younger children, the focus is curiosity, language, simple shapes, and collaborative building. As students progress, we introduce deeper thinking: structure, measurement, scale, materials, forces, and the roles within a real project team. By KS4–KS5, pupils engage with more advanced concepts and calculations — including Pythagoras, algebra, ratios, and basic engineering logic — taught through practical making, testing, and improving.

We don’t do worksheets and watching from the sidelines—pupils design, engineer, build and test. Our workshops follow a simple, powerful process: design → engineer → build → test → improve.
Because the activity is practical, it naturally supports cross-curricular learning:
We don’t do worksheets and watching from the sidelines—pupils design, engineer, build and test. Our workshops follow a simple, powerful process: design → engineer → build → test → improve.
Because the activity is practical, it naturally supports cross-curricular learning:
This is why the learning sticks: pupils understand the theory because they’re using it to solve a real problem.

Our workshops build more than models—they build transferable life skills. Pupils practise communication, leadership, listening, resilience, and learning from mistakes. They also gain insight into real careers, understanding how architects, engineers and builders collaborate to turn ideas into safe, beautiful structures.
Because the tasks
Our workshops build more than models—they build transferable life skills. Pupils practise communication, leadership, listening, resilience, and learning from mistakes. They also gain insight into real careers, understanding how architects, engineers and builders collaborate to turn ideas into safe, beautiful structures.
Because the tasks feel real and the outcomes are visible, pupils stay engaged, take pride in what they create, and leave with a stronger sense of what they can achieve.