Architecture as a career

Marden High School

13.12.24

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Paul Yeomans

Director and Senior Architect

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A bit about me

• Architect and Director at Medical Architecture
• Healthcare Design is my passion
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts for leadership in healthcare design

Also...

• A dad of a girl aged 17 and boy aged 13
• Both connected to Marden High School

Medical Architecture

• Healthcare architecture practice with studios in Newcastle and London
• Established for 33 years,18 years in Newcastle
• Work across the UK and internationally
• Current projects in UK, Canada, Ireland, Moldova and Oman

Projects

My career path

• King James I School, Bishop Auckland
• 3B’s A Levels in Art, Chemistry and Geography
• 3 year BA degree at Manchester + 1 year work
• 2 year Postgraduate degree at Nottingham
• 1 year to qualify as an architect while working
• Worked at GWK Architects for 6 years
• Moved to Medical Architecture 18 years ago
• Architect / Senior Architect / Associate / Director

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My first major project

Becoming an architect

Becoming an architect

• Traditional route
• Apprenticeship

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• Other architectural roles:
• Architectural Technologist - 3 year degree
• Interior Designer – 3 year degree

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Becoming an architect – traditional route

• Currently takes 7+ years of study and training to become an architect:

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• RIBA Part 1(3 years degree)
• Stage 1 practical experience/year out (paid salary average £22-24k)
• RIBA Part 2 (2 years Masters degree)
• Stage 2 practical experience (paid salary average £28-30k)
• RIBA Part 3 (approx. 1 year)
• Architect (average salary on qualification £34k, rising by experience and size of company ~ £80k+ partner/director)

Salary expectations

Becoming an architect – apprenticeship

• Combining practical experience in practice with academic training from university

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• Earn a salary and don’t pay tuition fees

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• 20% apprentice’s contracted hours in training

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• Two architecture degree apprenticeships routes in the UK:
• Level 6 Architectural Assistant, including Part 1 qualification (4 years)
• Level 7 Architect, including Part 2 and Part 3 qualifications (4 years)
• https://www.architecture.com/education-cpd-and-careers/apprenticeships/universities-offering-architecture-apprenticeship-training

Becoming an architect – apprenticeship

Level 6 Architectural Assistant Level 7 Architectural Assistant

London South Bank University University of Bath

University of Portsmouth Birmingham City University

De Montfort University

Leeds Beckett University

London Metropolitan University

London South Bank University

Northumbria University

University of Portsmouth

University of the West of England

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The traditional view of architects

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Now – more diversity but could be better

• Approx 50/50 split of male / female studying architecture at university
• UK qualified architects – still a lack of diversity
• 31% female, 69% male
• 82% white, 18% BAME

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Day to Day tasks and duties

Tasks and duties

• Every day is different
• Meeting clients and contractors (builders)
• Meeting and coordinating with other members of the design team (engineers etc)
• Sketching, drawing using 3D BIM software (Revit)
• Writing reports
• Marketing – bidding for work
• Presentations

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Eating Disorders Unit

St Ann’s Hospital, Drset

Eating Disorders Unit

St Ann’s Hospital, Drset

The best bits

What I enjoy

• Being creative
• Seeing our hard work come alive
• Travelling
• Working with great people
• New experiences
• The impact our buildings have on the people we design for
• Being acknowledged for our hard work – winning awards

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Using visualisations to show what a building could look like

… seeing it come to life during construction

… and finished!

The worst bits

What’s challenging

• Balancing work and home life
• Some long hours
• Deadlines!
• Difficult clients
• When things go wrong when they are being built

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Examples of how architects work

Seeing your sketches become real buildings

Turning sketches …

… into computer models

Seeing what’s inside them

Also working with old buildings …

The computer model … … and the photo of the building

Hope that’s helpful - any questions?

@medicalarch

medicalarchitecture.com

paul.yeomans@medicalarchitecture.com