For the final episode of season 3 I speak to RIBA President Elect for 2025-2027 Chris Williamson who is Founding Partner of WestonWilliamson + Partners part of the EGIS group.

Chris and has over 35 years’ experience in practice. He is also a NORTHERNER and has spent 30 years in transport projects attracting commuters out of cars onto safe, efficient well designed public transport including the design and masterplanning of stations, high speed rail, complex interchanges, underground, overground and light rail stations. 

In addition to being an Architect, Chris plays a very active role in various professional organisations. Chris is a registered Project Manager and an active member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Institute of Collaborative Working. Chris has acted as an expert witness for TWA and planning enquiries. 

In Feb 2016, Chris was inducted as a Freeman of the City of London and is currently Master of the Company of Architects in the City of London. Chris is a visiting professor at the University of London and Chair of the Southwark Design Review Panel.

In this episode, we discuss the RIBA's future, pay, business, the £85m RIBA's HQ refurbishment and education. We discuss solutions and how Chris plans to pair up with government ministers.

Today we have a CLIENT!

Robin Roberts , an Architect and a Fellow of the RIBA, is also the Chief executive of the Sutton Housing Society and is therefore a CLIENT!

However, Robin is also a Chartered Surveyor. The only individual to be simultaneously recognised as a fellow of both institutions, holding FRIBA and FRICS.

Robin seeks to identify more powerful ways to deliver projects, recognised by a collection of industry awards. Derek Rees, to quote Regional Director of Constructing Excellence "I see many great people that are trying to drive positive change in the construction sector and achieving it. But Robin clearly stands out, as demonstrated by the length and breadth of the Construction Excellence awards he has been instrumental in winning. He has also achieved several 'firsts' for us, including the first national client of the year and our first innovation in practice." 

We discuss, why you should be a GOOD client and how you can be a GOOD client. We also look at how you can move into the client role.

Robin is a winner of 10 Constructing Excellence awards and received their first innovation in practice recognition.

This is Part 2 of my interview with ⁠Ramesh Pari ⁠who works for a well-known grocery tech firm. You may ask: “Why am I interviewing someone from a tech company?” However, it may surprise you that Ramesh is an architect and is the Head of BIM Design & Coordination. 

In part 2 Ramesh talks about his work in the TECH sector and how he is thriving, getting more pay and family time. We discuss the RIBA and why he felt he had to leave and we also discuss his leadership style.

This is Part 1 of my interview with Ramesh Pari who works for a well-known grocery tech firm. You may ask: “Why am I interviewing someone from a tech company?” However, it may surprise you that Ramesh is an architect and is the Head of BIM Design & Coordination. 

Ramesh left being a practising architect 6 years ago after not finding enjoyment in the profession and in his own words had a toxic relationship with architecture. 

Ramesh is a child of an immigrant family from South Asia and thought the pursuit of becoming an Architect would result in him having a comfortable life. However, like more and more people in architecture, this is no longer popular as the salaries are quite frankly, SH*T.

Part 2 will focus on what happened when he left architecture and entered the tech sector.

Meet Emma Cogswell, a lighting designer based in the South of the United Kingdom in a town called Maidenhead, for the rest of the world it’s near Windsor. 

Emma is enchanted and intrigued by the thrilling effects of light, and lights' magnetic appeal. Instantly hooked by its special power, she has worked within the lighting industry for 25 years. 

Emma has worked with many industry experts and trade bodies and has kept her army informed about innovations through her Skills Army website, which she founded as a knowledge-share network.

To contact Emma visit: https://www.skillsarmy.co.uk

Meet Mohammad Balila who is a multi-cultured, Ivy League-educated architect and designer with 17+ years of experience in the profession and academia having worked in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Italy, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

If you are thinking of quitting architecture this is the episode to listen to.

Imagine just qualifying as an Architect and then deciding to QUIT to go into banking? That's what our next guest did, Clarissa Evans is a British Architect who has pivoted into the world of development finance and went back to her studies to gain further qualifications to earn BIG MONEY!

Clarissa has previously worked for Foster & Partners and IBI Group and then went back to change her whole career.  In episode 16 of series 3 you will find out she has leveraged her architecture skills to enter the world of Real Estate, Banking and Finance and in effect is now the one holding the purse strings for developers. So watch out!

I have with me today New York City Architect Bill Mandara, the CEO and Co-owner of Mancini Duffy. Bill has twenty-five years of experience in architectural design and is also a musician. 

Bill has contributed his design abilities on a variety of project types including industrial facilities, corporate offices, residential housing, retail facilities, and educational facilities but he is now best known for a massive project in the heart of Times Square (TSX Broadway) where a Theatre was lifted 30ft in the air but we will get into that. 

Bill also has vast experience in new building design and adaptive reuse of existing buildings and the practice exists in one of the most expensive cities in the world. 

We talk about the work of Mancini Duffy but also about leadership, repositioning projects, embracing technology and how Bill nurtures client relationships.

It was an absolute pleasure to talk to the mega talented Razan Altiraifi who is; a Design Technologist, Architectural Designer and Programmer who works for the large US practice, Perkins and Will.

Razan is located in North Carolina and has a growing TikTok presence where she talks about architecture and tech. Razan has moved from the TECH sector into Architecture, which is RARE because most of my past guests have done it the other way around. Razan also has an MS in Information Systems and a Master's (M.Arch) in Architecture. 

In this episode we discuss being a boomerang employee and how it can benefit you. We discuss; AI and Tech and how and why she went into architecture. We discuss PTO, lack of vacation in USA, unionisation and how she has managed to graduate without any debt.

You can connect to Razan on the following social media platforms:

Tik Tok at: @ctrl.alt.des and

Instagram at @ctrlaltdes

YouTube: @CTRLALTDES