After winning several student design awards and graduating with first-class honours from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Mark Ellson joined Holmes Miller as a Part 2 Assistant in 2005. Flash forward to 2022, and he sits at the helm of the practice as Holmes Miller’s Director. Here, FC&A learns how Mark went from a budding architectural assistant to the leader of an award-winning architecture practice.

Gerry Boyle began his career in the UK Civil Service as an Architectural Assistant. From here, he applied for a place on the department’s sponsorship scheme to become professionally qualified. In this article, we follow the route Gerry took from this role to land the position he holds today as a Senior Architect at Dublin-based firm Gray Design.

Fire industry legislation and regulations can be a minefield. This is particularly the case for non-fire specialists challenged with specifying fire systems capable of bringing peace of mind to all parties – both now and in the future, writes Amanda Hope, UK Business Development Manager at Advanced.

In this month’s issue, FC&A puts Tim Ward, CEO at Chetwoods, under the spotlight to find out more about his profession. In this Q&A, he explains where his interest in building design began and reveals who influenced his journey into following the architectural career path.

Paul Foster is this month’s exclusive Q&A profile. The Associate Director and Healthcare Lead at Sheffield-based practice Race Cottam Associates (RCA) discusses his current portfolio and shares more about his inspiration together with advice for aspiring architects.