Honest Opinions of our Placement Year
As individuals aiming to become qualified architects in the UK, we have spent the past year working in small architecture practices as part 1 architectural assistants. Those who have been following us through our Instagram stories will know how our past 12 months have been.
To give some context for the newcomers, after graduating from the University of Westminster in July 2022 with our bachelors in Architecture, we started working as part 1 architectural assistants in small London offices. The offices were similar in size and worked primarily on private small-scale residential projects, however, our experiences differed a lot and today we’ll be looking back on how our 12 months were spent. Very recently, I (Sude) started working as a part-time part 1 architectural assistant at a large firm as part of my full-time master’s course at the London School of Architecture, whilst Elif has decided to continue with her year-out practice which is supporting her level 7 architect apprenticeship with the University of Cambridge.
So… how have the past 12 months been for the both of us?
Lets get started!
Sude
I think those who strongly follow our Instagram page will know that my 12-month year out didn’t go swimmingly. I’ll first discuss objectively whether I think the 12 months was worth taking or if I should have gone straight into my Masters. And to be honest, without a second thought, I’d suggest everyone takes at least a year out before they proceed further in their architectural education.
The reasoning behind this stems from the large differences between practising architecture and studying architecture. I’m confident in saying that no matter how much preparation was attempted by our undergraduate degree in channelling the transition into practice, none of it was successful simply because of the different nature of the profession in a new context. At university, you’re given design briefs to respond to, predominantly alone, in a very hypothetical situation without understanding regulations, legalities, roles of consultants, budget, technical design - which actually works - and so forth. So, the stereotypical “take advantage of your design freedom whilst you can” at university wasn’t said for no reason because in reality majority of university brief proposals are too expensive to build or they would simply be rejected in planning or the technology to build it doesn’t even exist yet.
Once I had graduated, I had set my mind on applying to small practices only with the exception of medium-sized firms here and there. The main reason behind this decision was to ensure I was immersed in a slightly more challenging environment as well as hoping that I gained more knowledge about the real parameters when designing in the UK. Let’s just say the latter didn’t really happen.
When I joined my previous practice it all went well… for about 2 months or so until the only senior architect besides my two directors had put in their leave notice. Those 2 months were the silence before the storm. Initially, if you had asked me what I was doing as a part 1, I was assisting an architect with drawings on a project in RIBA stage 5 construction as well as helping out with marketing since the team was extremely small and my background in content creation gave all the more of a reason to help. November 2022 onwards… I was no longer what you would describe as a ‘part 1’ and instead a part 3/architect. There were moments when I was referred to as ‘project manager’ and ‘architect’, which at first I have to be honest did sound really good considering that my responsibilities were that of a project manager BUT as the weeks went by this applauded capability in handling a project alone in construction for the first time wasn’t reflected anywhere else; my salary, inconsistent working from home policies, hostile learning environment, blatant lying. Sooner or later I realised that I was just cheap labour - my practice was able to have someone carry out the tasks of an architect with a significantly low pay because of my qualifications. I was extremely hard on myself, questioning how I had put myself in this position. Funny enough this vacancy was brought to my attention through LinkedIn when a previous part 1 who had worked there before contacted me and recommended the place. It was a downfall from that point on.
I predominantly worked on-site delivery and construction drawings. Construction drawings were very different to university orthographic drawings. At university, there was always a phrase that our tutors would preach, “the drawing should tell you everything” and so words and labels weren’t exactly praised alongside orthographics. In construction package drawings, the most important information is on labels, keys, and text boxes. Floor plans, elevations, and sections started to become diagrammatic and it was more so the written information alongside the drawing that was key. Also, repeating information across multiple drawings was common. It wasn’t just about clarity but also providing ease for the contractor - sometimes they just wouldn’t check all the drawings referenced so you gotta make sure that all drawings had all the information needed. Maybe this was bad practice or a one-off but I found the process really inefficient. Thankfully, I had a very friendly and casual relationship with our contractor for the two projects on-site so resolving problems and keeping contact with each other was helpful. The same applies to the majority of our consultants and our beloved clients who were my main motivation which gave me the energy to get through the workplace. Delivering projects on-site was extremely rewarding. The feeling of issuing drawings and seeing them in action the next week can’t be topped. I grew a big appreciation for construction workers and contractors during that period too. They were the ones translating our drawings into reality.
All in all, I will say I had a lot of responsibility contacting consultants, regular catch-ups and meetings with contractors and clients. A couple of months into leading two projects in construction, I was hardly consoling with my directors and drawings, emails, and information for clients, consultants, and contractors were being sent through my own self-monitoring. The alleged senior members of staff that I was learning from started to become absent from projects so they could focus on growing the business. Don’t get me wrong, I did learn a lot but… it was at the cost of being in a toxic environment which was absolutely unnecessary.
When I look back, I want to congratulate myself for getting through the stuff I did. Those of you who have been following our Instagram stories for a while would have witnessed the past 12 months in practice.
I also want to take this moment to give a life update and let you all know what I am doing now. For those who are unaware, I left my previous practice in August in preparation for starting a new workplace and my MArch course. To clear up confusion, the MArch course at the London School of Architecture integrates a paid 10-month part-time placement into their practice module allowing students to work and study in their first year whilst still being registered as a full-time student on a 2-year course.
Elif
If there’s anything you take from this blog post, it should be that everyone’s experience will inevitably be different from each other due to the multitude of factors that influence your time in practice. How your experience is shaped can be determined by the people, the workplace ethics and values, the workload, your interest in the projects, your ability to manage work with life and so on. Personally for me, I'm lucky enough to say that my experience so far has been positive and as a result, I have chosen to continue progressing my career with a route which allows me to simultaneously work and study.
The past 12 months have really made me stop and re-think a lot of things in my life in relation to my work ethic, personal progress and what I want from the industry as I continue on this journey to qualify. Only now do I realise as I’m sitting here with my cup of tea, reflecting on the year, that taking a working year out has changed everything. It has allowed me to slow down and enjoy the small things in life, even with something as simple as being able to switch off at the end of the day and enjoy my evening without worrying or feeling guilty about ‘wasting time’, which was not the case during my undergrad.
When I first started working, I was super nervous. This was my first ever full-time job in architecture and I had no idea what to expect. Was my skillset going to be enough to complete the tasks I’d be given? Would I fit in? Or would I even like the office environment? This was all a huge unknown, which I'm sure is daunting for everyone in the same position as me, but it’s oddly also very exciting. I recall spending the weekend prior to my start date trying my best to prepare for what was about to be the next 12 months of my life.
Initially, within the first couple of months, I was mainly focused on the early RIBA stages. This consisted of me doing surveys, existing drawings and scheme designs. Having the chance to engage with the client from the very start of a project was really helpful, especially as you carry the project into RIBA stage 2, you have a better understanding of their brief, criteria and style, which can save a lot of time further down the line when refining the ideas. Given that we are a small team I was being trained by a colleague which was definitely helpful in settling in, learning the file system and the way to interact with clients.
As I progressed throughout the year, I started working on RIBA Stages 3 and 4, preparing drawings for planning, design and access statements and volume calculations all whilst getting to learn the different borough restrictions and different types of planning applications. This eventually led me to work on detailed design drawings for building regulations and the tender process which requires you to be in contact with specialist consultants and contractors to price and cross-compare quotes for the clients. As for Stage 5, I have been part of one project which has allowed me to get some on-site experience. It was a very small project, but that almost worked out for the better as it definitely helped ease the way in for me to understand how project management and construction phase work outside of the office.
Everything considered I am continuing to work with this practice on small private residential projects throughout the RIBA Stages 2-4 and sometimes with the opportunity to see Stage 5. I'm sure you can tell from my experience that it has been a great 12 months of learning and progressing through a healthy work environment, and whilst I’m sure there are people asking if it gets repetitive, which it can sometimes, there are always new things that I am learning with different situations and progression of projects!
In conclusion, our past year as Part 1 Architectural Assistants in small London offices has been transformative for us both and it is one that has significantly shaped our perspectives on the architectural profession. It’s obvious from our reflection that the path to becoming a qualified architect is multifaceted and anything but uniform. For more of our experiences and day-to-day lives, head over to our Instagram, @archidabble, to join the community where we post Architecture content as students and professionals from the industry!
