Profession: Course Director & Lecturer in BA Architecture
City: Birmingham
Country: United Kingdom

What inspired you to want a life in Architecture and the creative industries?:
I had some inspirational teachers at school who let me know the good and bad sides of my work. It just so happened that the feedback was easier for me to understand and respond to in design-based subjects, and I’ve always enjoyed the pursuit to improve my skillset and try it new things. Reflecting on my time as a student in the UK, there aren’t many subjects where you can test yourself so openly and where you can really consume yourself in the work. Design is never boring, so I thought why not?

Who inspired you in finding your path to Architecture/Film and the creative industries?:
Fine Art was valued at my school and was championed by an excellent tutor, Barry Lucas. Design and Technology, on the other hand, seemed to be fighting a losing cause, Although I loved this subject and felt really supported by our regular teacher, he fell ill, was replaced by a very unsupportive teacher who repeatedly accused me of plagiarism, and then the subject was not offered for GCSE. Without this academic support in place, I am glad that my parents and siblings are all creative people in one way or another who pushed me to pursue some design based subjects. I was keen to take a year out at the end of secondary school, but my father suggested I look at creative courses open in clearing. I was pushed into it a bit, but I really think it’s very helpful at that age to have someone who is aware of your skillset and who keeps pushing you forward to try out new things – its not a scenario that every young student finds for themselves. Architecture was one of these clearing courses – I applied, was accepted, and it started from there.

How you unlock obstacles and overcome bias in your work?:
I work hard, share my work, and give people credit where it is due – treating everyone in the same way that I want to be respected. Just as in any industry, Architecture and architectural education have loads of great people who can help you develop just by being around them and learning from what they do – on the other hand there are people who are much more extractive and seek self-preservation, self-promotion over adding real value to the learning experience. I have no qualms over letting them know if something is problematic. I believe one of the big issues facing people from non-traditional backgrounds is the idea that their concerns will not be respected, their issues will be ignored – there’s obviously precedent for this to be the case, but keeping quiet doesn’t help the cause. I believe it’s important to let others know that you are aware of the broader context and they understand where you’re coming from. If you’re not getting credit for your input then someone isn’t working with transparency or equity, effectively blocking the flow of change and respect. I think this is even more significant as a person from a non traditional background as we can only foster change if we acknowledge the good things done and use this everyday publicity to challenge preconceptions.

What improvements do you feel are required to promote effective change in the academic and working environment?:
In professional practice, too many employers do not reward hard work until you tell them you’re looking elsewhere – which in my experience leaves a very bitter taste. Reward good work once you realise its impact.
Mentorship and management is not suited to everyone. More value should be put on those people in practice who help young staff to engage and flourish in the design and construction industry – mentoring is a hard role, especially when practices try to show their inclusivity by hiring people from different backgrounds but then offer very little support. There should mandatory professional development on how to develop productive and supportive managerial relationships, and how to mentor.
In education, I work to create ways that students can complete an assignment in a format that suits them. This is like a pic’n’mix approach to assignments, alongside workshops that help to develop a very wide range of knowledge bases that students can navigate and self-select. We need to be clear that we are assessing critical competency on a specific area of knowledge – not just how to jump through hoops – and we need to consider what the profession is looking for and what barriers exist to stop all students showcasing these skillsets.
Curricula need to be more open to challenge in respect of location, history, culture, and identity. Its not good enough just to mention that things have always happened in different parts of the world, we need to include these in the same conversation and attribute an equivalent amount of impact to these topics. Simultaneously, students need to have a clear idea on how to understand and critique the status quo so that they can engage in conversation with a generation who were not educated in such an inclusive manner. We also need to earnestly congratulate the positives in work, mark with transparency and break down assessment criteria so that expected biases don’t work against students from different backgrounds.