Ben McKenna started out studying interior architecture at Brighton. From there, he joined a small practice that worked in sensitive locations in rural Kent and Sussex. Ben’s work here was focused on listed building alterations and rural housing. With a desire to expand on what he’d learnt working at a small practice, Ben joined Conran and Partners to work largely on estate regeneration and residential projects in London and the South East. Having recently joined DMWR Architects, Ben talks to us about his time at Conran and Partners and runs through a few of his favourite designs.

Niralee Casson came to architecture slightly later than most, having already achieved a degree in law before deciding to make the switch. With her student loan already used up, she undertook all of her architectural education on a part-time basis whilst working full-time at Assael Architecture; in 2018, she was finishing her Part 2, starting her Part 3 and working all simultaneously. Here, we talk to Niralee about her switch from law to architecture.

30-year-old James Brett is Managing Director of family-owned firm Edgeley Construction. Having spent a considerable amount of time on sites throughout his life, he leads from the front and drives growth with investment in digital construction and training. Here, James talks to FC&A about his journey to becoming the Managing Director of Edgeley Construction.

After studying architecture at Robert Gordon’s in Aberdeen, Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and The Royal College of Art in London, David Kirkland undertook his first practical year out at Nicholas Grimshaw’s practice in London, where he ended up staying for 18 years. Since 2000, he has run his own practice – Kirkland Fraser Moor. Here, FC&A talks to David about his career and finds out when his passion for architecture began.

Since graduating from the Welsh School of Architecture in 2002, which included a year out in practice working for Travis McEwen Group (now Architectus) in Sydney, Australia, Gareth Woodfin started his UK professional career at Capita.

Before Myles Taylor first stepped into an architectural office, he was ushered to work on site as a labourer by his step-father – a Property Surveyor who thought that if Myles was going to design buildings, then he should know how they fit together first. Here, FC&A finds out how Myles went from learning on site to starting his own architectural practice and discovers just what he learnt along the way.

The Grenfell Tower tragedy exposed fundamental and deep-rooted issues over competency, highlighting major skills and knowledge gaps amongst those responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and day-to-day operation of buildings. In this article, Jonathan O’Neill OBE, Managing Director of the Fire Protection Association (FPA), explores whether the issue of competency has become clearer since Grenfell, and argues that a greater degree of focus must be placed on fire safety competence and accountability for those responsible for building design.

Sally Lewis describes the start of her career as an exploration of what architectural education could offer. She was a practicing Architect in South Africa by the mid-‘90s, but turned to urban design thanks to a scholarship to study in the UK. By the turn of the millennium, she had completed an MA in urban design and was in the UK for good, building up her career with roles at the likes of Llewellyn Davies, John McAslan + Partners, CABE and HTA. Here, we find out about Sally’s time in South Africa, discover the designs she’s worked on here in the UK and learn more about the opening of her firm, Stitch Architects.

Cynthia Leung, Design Manager at Canary Wharf Contractors, is a qualified Architect. After working in a practice for a number of years and keen to gain exposure in the front end of the industry in relation to construction and property development, she moved to Canary Wharf Contractors to build upon her experience. Here, Cynthia talks to FC&A about her professional experience.

Celebrating a decade of working within the architectural industry, Hala ElKhorazaty, Senior Interior Designer at Perkins&Will London, looks back on her past 10 years in the sector and describes when her interest in architecture and design began.