We are so proud to recognise Andrew Brown and his achievement of passing his Part 3, qualifying him as a fully-fledged architect!
We chatted with Andrew about his architectural journey, current projects, and life in the North East.
How does it feel to be a qualified architect?
“It feels great, a huge relief to have it completed. I’ve been in practice for over ten years now post-Part 2. This is the natural progression, albeit slightly delayed!”
What inspired you to train as an architect?
“I’ve always been creative and enjoyed problem-solving, and through various work experiences and college, these skills were always my strong points. I started interior architecture at university and then switched to Architecture in my 2nd year and never looked back. My experiences through education and watching Grand Designs in the early 2000s directed my interests towards architecture.”
What current projects are you working on?
“My main commitments are focused on the developments at Teesside International Airport (TIA) and the Teesworks site. At TIA, several of the internal refurbishment works are being completed on site which is great to see. We are continuing to assist in further developments as the number of passengers at the airport increases. These projects should continue well into 2022 and I am excited at the opportunity in helping the airport deliver its vision for the future with some exciting and interesting projects in the pipeline.”
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
“Getting out and about experiencing and visiting places, particularly new places. We relocated to the North East a few years ago and although we’ve been restricted in the last 18 months, we are always looking for new experiences; from coastal walks, local festivals, music/comedy/theatre, street food and wine bars.”
Any advice for people going into Part 3?
“It may be a 7-8 month process from enrolment to interview, but do not underestimate the time needed to complete tasks! Logbooks can be very time consuming so working consistently over the 18 month period you have to log them will save a lot of time in the end. Timeline and plan your case study with key events in a scrapbook as it’s also extremely time-consuming hunting for emails and minutes! All of mine were backdated, so the pain of trawling through the archived information was laborious and unavoidable. Plan your time so you can spread the workload over time and get your colleagues to check it for experience gaps.”
