15 years ago, I began my training as an architect. Outside of my academic responsibilities, I began to seek experience in architectural
practices as a technician, a Part I & II architectural assistant, and a draughtsman. Since then, I have operated in a wide variety of sectors, from commercial to residential, energy and education. For the past five years, I have travelled extensively and worked on a remote freelance basis.
15 years ago, I began my training as an architect. Outside of my academic responsibilities, I began to seek experience in architectural practices as a technician, a Part I & II architectural assistant, and a draughtsman. Since then, I have operated in a wide variety of sectors, from commercial to residential, energy and education. For the past five years, I have travelled extensively and worked on a remote freelance basis.
The Masters course instilled the importance of a holistic approach to the design situation, supported by a rigorous research element to produce both a well-considered and considerate design.
As the ultimate part of time in academia, the Masters program provided the perfect opportunity to bring together and showcase my full range of skills and abilities.
The Masters course instilled the importance of a holistic approach to the design situation, supported by a rigorous research element to produce both a well-considered and considerate design.
As the ultimate part of time in academia, the Masters program provided the perfect opportunity to bring together and showcase my full range of skills and abilities.
The second part of the architecture course lent a heavy emphasis on the use of ‘context’ to influence and instruct the design of a building, viewing any intervention in a given site as the introduction of an organism into an existing ecology.
Research into some of the distinctive environments brought with it the tools to quantify environmental factors, whilst the study of Biomimetics for the first time began to influence responsive and intelligent form and building systems design.
The first part of the architecture course at Manchester University lent a heavy focus on the creative and conceptual work needed to bring new ideas to the design of building. Teaching was begun in the absence of computers, stressing the need for freehand drawing and modelmaking to draft and experiment with new ideas in a fluid manner, and also to present final proposals.
The program also highlighted the importance of context in the design of any given project, on both a local (micro) scale and a wider, global (macro) scale.
Since the time of my Design Technology course in secondary school, the physical scale model has proved indispensable in my work, allowing me to rapidly test and develop new ideas during the design process, and to effectively present proposals to the client.
There will always be a need for a skilled hand to present ideas, a need that a computer cannot fulfil. As with freehand drawing, the physical model is more familiar and more ‘friendly’ to the client, more accessible for all, and a powerful tool for communicating ideas.
A continuous string of design projects through my architectural career has given me the opportunity to familiarise myself with new techniques in graphical detailing and presentation, both traditional methods of drawing and painting, and also specialist design software such as the Adobe Creative Design Suite.
Here you can find a selection of my graphic design side projects in a variety of applications.
Follow the links below to explore indivual projects
