As a kid, I loved building things. From building a tall skyscraper out of LEGO blocks to stacking Jenga blocks to look like The London Bridge, the time I spent dreaming about tall buildings and intricate structures was limitless. Toys fuelled my imagination as well as my insatiable desire to become an architect one day.
And I did! It was natural for me to endure seven long years of studying the UK’s defining structures and the world’s architectural wonders. Learning in-depth about building, planning and renovation, was the perfect foundation for a builder like me to turn my childhood dream into my professional reality.
After graduating with top honours, the natural thing for me to do was join a stable and well-known architectural firm. But fate, you see, had different plans for me. Within a few weeks of my graduation from college, my professor approached me with an intriguing project.
Working from the Ground Up
“Classroom maps.”
My expectations plummeted as fast as they had risen. I was expecting a private property renovation project from my professor’s influential network, but I was offered something as basic as designing maps for a school’s classrooms. However, I brushed off my disappointment of not receiving something glamorous to fall in my lap and humbly accepted the offer. At that moment, I felt an offer was better than receiving no offer.
I went to my drawing board and got down to designing classroom maps for a new school wing of my alma mater. It made me reflect on my seven-year learning journey and how important school management support was for students. After a quick site visit, I began studying the existing classroom layouts of the old building, which gave me enough perspective and direction on how I needed to go about my designs.
I designed the maps with a lot of attention to detail. From laying out the desks and chairs in a manner that promotes space optimisation as well as free movement for students. Naturally, I paid close attention to the ventilation, natural light and acoustics of each classroom. Many don’t realise how these tiny details can stimulate learning and thinking in children.
This basic project made me realise that architecture goes beyond thinking about where to put walls, doors, and windows. It’s designing an environment for living, working, and, in this case, an education environment for young and influential minds.
Even though at a small scale, this was the first project that I designed as a professional architect. In some way, it was like a token of my paying back to my alma mater right from the start of my career.
After submitting the design, as a mark of respect and gratitude, I refused to take any compensation from my professor and only sought his feedback and a letter of recommendation. All in all, I believe it was a fine start to my career.
Raising the Bar and the Building
After a small but successful start, it was time for me to dive head-first into the highly competitive world of architecture. Thanks to my school’s alumni network, work poured in.
I spent the next few months, both days and nights, working on projects, some more difficult than others. A few months into my professional career as an architect, I had built enough skills to transition from assisting and contributing to leading projects.
One of the first projects that I took on was for the new exhibition centre in town. The older building was being dismantled and renovated, and I was entrusted with designing the floor plan. The key to a good floor plan for an event or venue depends on how it’s going to be used. If there’s one thing that school has taught me, it’s that I should never, I repeat, never rush into building a floor plan. It’s a core aspect that can either end up as a disaster or something absolutely spectacular.
Needless to say, I had the most important task to do. After consulting the civil team and the management, we put together a plan that was structurally and financially feasible. Encompassing multiple floors, my floor plan for the exhibition centre featured a unique layout that was more focused on visitor convenience over aesthetic detailing. It was more than a mere technical drawing; this floor plan was a blueprint of a community building ready to be built into reality.
Months down the line, the exhibition centre was up and ready to hold audiences and visitors. It was decked up with lights and decorative elements, and even display stands for exhibitions, inviting people to visit the venue. I remember standing outside with my fellow architects on inauguration day admiring the erected structure. I also remember beaming with pride at my first time leading a project to fruition. I was so proud of how far I have come as a professional architect.
A Blueprint for a Successful Venture
Years later, I accompanied a friend and visited an exhibition at the very same centre I had built. It was about finance, particularly personal finance, which was clearly not my forte. But my friend, who was already running his own business, wanted to know more about financial options for business owners.
After a moment of self-reflection, it dawned that I was also at a juncture where I needed to start something of my own. It had been years since I sat at home burning the midnight oil and designing my first classroom map project. I was now a well-known name among the architectural circles in the UK, having led and assisted scores of planning, building, and renovation projects.
At the exhibition, my friend and I came across multiple financial companies, some of which supported small business owners and independent individuals. I was intrigued to find out more about these companies that also disbursed money without the need for a credit check.
Attending this exhibition was a fateful encounter. Why? It set the momentum for what I truly desired – an architectural firm of my own.
In a matter of a few months, with my friend and my school professor as investors, I set up shop in the city. In no time, a steady stream of clients poured in, mainly by references shared by my previous clients. The wheels of my dream venture were in motion.
My alumni network got a whiff of my trailblazing career progression, and I was invited as a keynote speaker for the network conference. I was asked to enlighten existing college students about my experiences and the journey so far of my career as an architect in the UK.
Summing Up
And that’s what brings me to write this post. Reminiscing and reflecting on my days fresh out of college when I was clueless, fast-forwarding to the present, where I have a thriving architecture consulting business. It has been quite a journey of professional ups and downs, along with personal highs and lows that certainly cannot be covered in a single post.
If there’s one key to how I have rapidly progressed in life, it’s my passion and determination to build not just a structure, but my future.
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