It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Mark Tolley on his achievement of passing Part 3 certification to fully qualify as an architect. Mark has been with Corstorphine & Wright for 3 years and is based in our Birmingham studio.
We sat down with Mark to chat about his architectural interests and aspirations.
What are you working on currently?
I’m working on a project in Southend-on-Sea which is a huge residential scheme of over 800 apartments which is being designed in parallel to Southend Football Club. It’s really interesting. This is one of the first times I’ve been involved with the planning stages, I get to be more conceptual with my drawings.
What sectors are you most interested in? What is your focus?
I’ve mostly being doing residential during these past few years at Corstorphine & Wright, but I did some education, schools and universities, back in my Part 1 and really enjoyed that too. I’ve really zoned in on residential housing these past three years, I hope to see myself developing there.
What is your ideal project?
I have been doing some large-scale residential projects in the Birmingham city centre, I’ve had some great experience on these projects and are really engaged in the process. In the future, I would love to do some smaller scale, bespoke type housing too.
What’s the best part of working in architecture?
There is a great office culture here. Before Covid we often had nights out and events which really lifted the studio spirit. Working as a team is exciting. Seeing the drawings come to life, going on site and seeing what you’ve drawn being built is really cool.
What are your biggest inspirations?
For me, I get inspired when I go off travelling. The year or two before I went to look at universities I went to Barcelona and saw Gaudi’s work. I thought it was insane and was absolutely taken aback. Different cities have such unique atmospheres and you get to see how the built environment shapes peoples experiences.
Any more advice for people going into Part 3?
It can be really overwhelming. You’re essentially doing a degree and working full time, with your own pressure to pass. It’s important to do it in your own time, don’t get burnt out and enjoy it for what it is. Look back reflectively, I think ‘Wow, that was really interesting’ which I can then bring into my work.
Well done, Mark, passing your Part 3 is such an incredible accomplishment and all of us here at Corstorphine & Wright are very proud!
