Bespoke Careers Podcast

his summer, RIBA elect the institute’s next president. Four candidates are running to be president: Duncan Baker-Brown, Chithra Marsh, Jay Morton and Austin Williams. We sat down with all four, to hear their vision for the future of the profession. We’ll be releasing one episode per day in the lead-up to the voting opening on Monday, 15 June. Next up: Chithra Marsh.Chithra is a Director at Buttress Architects in Manchester, with over 30 years’ experience across practices of varying size. She leads on community regeneration, social value and equality, diversity and inclusion within the practice, which is both B Corp certified and employee‑owned.Chithra has served RIBA extensively at regional and national level, including on Council, committees and advisory panels. Former National Chair of Women in Property, she is recognised for her collaborative leadership style, strong governance experience and ability to build meaningful professional relationships. She is committed to strengthening RIBA as an inclusive, connected and representative professional community. Voting opens at 9 am on Monday, 15 June and closes at 4 pm on Friday, 26 June. Results announced Thursday, 2 July. For more information, head here: https://www.riba.org/about-us/governance/elections/

This summer, RIBA elect the institute’s next president.

Four candidates are running to be president: Duncan Baker-Brown, Chithra Marsh, Jay Morton and Austin Williams.

We sat down with all four, to hear their vision for the future of the profession. We’ll be releasing one episode per day in the lead-up to the voting opening on Monday, 15 June.

Next up: Duncan Baker-Brown

Duncan Baker‑Brown is the founder of BakerBrown Studio, a small practice based in Brighton, and has over four decades’ experience combining practice, education, and policy.

He is a university postgraduate course leader, author and internationally recognised advocate for low‑carbon, retrofit, and circular design. Duncan has represented RIBA at multiple UN COP summits and worked directly with the UK government on net‑zero, circular economy and retrofit policy, including VAT reform. His practice has delivered 100% social housing and is a Certified B Corporation.

He brings a regionally grounded, research‑led perspective focused on fairness, sustainability and supporting practices across the UK and internationally.

Voting opens at 9 am on Monday, 15 June and closes at 4 pm on Friday, 26 June. Results announced Thursday, 2 July.

For more information, head here: https://www.riba.org/about-us/governance/elections/

This summer, RIBA members elect the institute's next president. The RIBA president chairs the institute's council, sits on its board, and speaks for the profession to government, media and the public. Whoever wins takes office as president-elect on 1 September 2026 and serves as president from 2027 to 2029. Those two years run straight through housing policy, climate targets, architectural education, and what the job looks like for the people coming into it. There are four candidates standing. We sat down with each of them, asked them the same questions, to help you decide who to vote for. We'll be releasing one episode per day for the next four days in the lead up to voting opening on Monday 15 June. The candidates:Duncan Baker-Brown, founder of BakerBrown StudioChithra Marsh, director at Buttress ArchitectsJay Morton, director at Bell Phillips ArchitectsAustin Williams, architect, academic and writerAbout Austin Williams:Austin is an architect, academic and writer, and course leader for the Part 3 Professional Practice programme at Kingston School of Art. His career spans practice, education, journalism and research, with experience as a sole practitioner, lead architect, expert witness and author. Having studied and worked across the UK and internationally, including six years in China, he brings a broad and critical perspective on the profession.Austin is known for his plain‑spoken approach to issues such as regulation, education, fees and professional support, and advocates for open debate, clearer guidance and stronger engagement with the everyday realities facing architects. Voting opens 9am Monday 15 June and closes 4pm Friday 26 June. Results announced Thursday 2 July.Head here for more information: https://www.riba.org/about-us/governance/elections/

This summer, RIBA members elect the institute's next president.

The RIBA president chairs the institute's council, sits on its board, and speaks for the profession to government, media and the public. Whoever wins takes office as president-elect on 1 September 2026 and serves as president from 2027 to 2029. Those two years run straight through housing policy, climate targets, architectural education, and what the job looks like for the people coming into it.

There are four candidates standing. We sat down with each of them, asked them the same questions, to help you decide who to vote for.

We'll be releasing one episode per day for the next four days in the lead up to voting opening on Monday 15 June.

First up: Jay Morton.

The candidates:

• Duncan Baker-Brown, founder of BakerBrown Studio
• Chithra Marsh, director at Buttress Architects
• Jay Morton, director at Bell Phillips Architects
• Austin Williams, architect, academic and writer

About Jay Morton:

Jay Morton is a Director at Bell Phillips Architects, where she works on large‑scale housing, masterplanning and regeneration projects. Alongside practice, she has spent over a decade shaping housing and built‑environment policy at local and national level and contributing to public debate. Jay regularly engages with media, policymakers and professional forums, and hosts the Architects for Change podcast. She serves on design review panels and the steering group for Architects’ Action for Affordable Housing. Known for her clear communication and advocacy, she brings experience in policy influence, public engagement and practice leadership.

Voting opens 9am Monday 15 June and closes 4pm Friday 26 June. Results announced Thursday 2 July.

Noris Obijiaku, known online as Mr Chuck, is an architecture student and content creator with more than 300,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram.

He's become known for his tours of London's housing estates, leading him to interview London's mayor Sadiq Khan, speak on panels and partner with the likes of Arsenal and Dezeen.

Born in Italy, raised on a London estate, now finishing his Part 2 at the London School of Architecture while working in practice. In this episode we get into the estate tours, the crits that skin you, and the new roadmap for 'making it' in architecture.

What does it actually take to run 400 architects across nine studios?

Sabrina sits down with us to talk about the business of architecture - the side most architects would rather not think about. Sabrina Klor is the CEO of 10 Design, a global architecture and masterplanning practice employing 400+ architects and designers across studios in London, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Miami, Dubai, Dallas, Edinburgh, Shenzhen and Singapore.

10 Design is part of 10N, a 1,500-strong collective of six architecture and urbanism practices under Egis Group.Sabrina is also Chair of Women in Architecture (WIA) UK, advocating for systemic change in the built environment for women and other underrepresented voices in the profession.

Tim Fu is the founder of Studio Tim Fu, a design practice working at the sharp end of AI in architecture, where the conversation is no longer just about the visuals and starts being about real projects with real risk and real responsibility.

Tim's work sits in that gap between hype and reality, looking at what AI can genuinely do, where it doesn't quite meet the standard and where it's going to.

Our conversation is a dissection of some of the practices latest international projects, exploring the opportunities and complexities around authorship, liability, and even the economic model of practice as a whole.

This is a must watch or listen episode wherever you sit on AI.

Sanjay Puri is the founder of Sanjay Puri Architects, a Mumbai-based practice of 100 people with projects spanning 55 cities across India.

The studio has won over 350 international awards and is known for sculptural, climate-driven design, using massing, shading, and natural ventilation instead of bolt-on sustainability.

Charlie Caswell and Adam Dainow met at architecture school in Sheffield, climbed the ranks at London practices, and then walked away from it all to become property developers.

In this episode, they talk about what they had to give up, the five-year grind of building a business from scratch, why they think architecture education is broken, and what architects can learn from the development side of the industry.

Charlie and Adam are the co-founders of Cawell&Dainow, a design-led property development company that transforms London's overlooked sites into high-quality homes.

Evelyn Lee is an architect, entrepreneur, and tech strategist who served as the 2025 President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). She operates at the intersection of design, technology, and business, currently serving as a fractional Chief Operations Officer (COO), startup advisor, and angel investor within the built environment.