Bespoke Careers Podcast

his summer, RIBA elect the institute’s next president. Four candidates are running to be president: Duncan Baker-Brown, Chithra Marsh, Jay Morton and Austin Williams. We sat down with all four, to hear their vision for the future of the profession. We’ll be releasing one episode per day in the lead-up to the voting opening on Monday, 15 June. Next up: Chithra Marsh.Chithra is a Director at Buttress Architects in Manchester, with over 30 years’ experience across practices of varying size. She leads on community regeneration, social value and equality, diversity and inclusion within the practice, which is both B Corp certified and employee‑owned.Chithra has served RIBA extensively at regional and national level, including on Council, committees and advisory panels. Former National Chair of Women in Property, she is recognised for her collaborative leadership style, strong governance experience and ability to build meaningful professional relationships. She is committed to strengthening RIBA as an inclusive, connected and representative professional community. Voting opens at 9 am on Monday, 15 June and closes at 4 pm on Friday, 26 June. Results announced Thursday, 2 July. For more information, head here: https://www.riba.org/about-us/governance/elections/

This summer, RIBA members elect the institute's next president. The RIBA president chairs the institute's council, sits on its board, and speaks for the profession to government, media and the public. Whoever wins takes office as president-elect on 1 September 2026 and serves as president from 2027 to 2029. Those two years run straight through housing policy, climate targets, architectural education, and what the job looks like for the people coming into it. There are four candidates standing. We sat down with each of them, asked them the same questions, to help you decide who to vote for. We'll be releasing one episode per day for the next four days in the lead up to voting opening on Monday 15 June. The candidates:Duncan Baker-Brown, founder of BakerBrown StudioChithra Marsh, director at Buttress ArchitectsJay Morton, director at Bell Phillips ArchitectsAustin Williams, architect, academic and writerAbout Austin Williams:Austin is an architect, academic and writer, and course leader for the Part 3 Professional Practice programme at Kingston School of Art. His career spans practice, education, journalism and research, with experience as a sole practitioner, lead architect, expert witness and author. Having studied and worked across the UK and internationally, including six years in China, he brings a broad and critical perspective on the profession.Austin is known for his plain‑spoken approach to issues such as regulation, education, fees and professional support, and advocates for open debate, clearer guidance and stronger engagement with the everyday realities facing architects. Voting opens 9am Monday 15 June and closes 4pm Friday 26 June. Results announced Thursday 2 July.Head here for more information: https://www.riba.org/about-us/governance/elections/

Noris Obijiaku, known online as Mr Chuck, is an architecture student and content creator with more than 300,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram. He's become known for his tours of London's housing estates, leading him to interview London's mayor Sadiq Khan, speak on panels and partner with the likes of Arsenal and Dezeen.Born in Italy, raised on a London estate, now finishing his Part 2 at the London School of Architecture while working in practice. In this episode we get into the estate tours, the crits that skin you, and the new roadmap for 'making it' in architecture.

Tim Fu is the founder of Studio Tim Fu, a design practice working at the sharp end of AI in architecture, where the conversation is no longer just about the visuals and starts being about real projects with real risk and real responsibility. Tim's work sits in that gap between hype and reality, looking at what AI can genuinely do, where it doesn't quite meet the standard and where it's going to.Our conversation is a dissection of some of the practices latest international projects, exploring the opportunities and complexities around authorship, liability, and even the economic model of practice as a whole.This is a must watch or listen episode wherever you sit on AI.

Charlie Caswell and Adam Dainow met at architecture school in Sheffield, climbed the ranks at London practices, and then walked away from it all to become property developers. In this episode, they talk about what they had to give up, the five-year grind of building a business from scratch, why they think architecture education is broken, and what architects can learn from the development side of the industry. Charlie and Adam are the co-founders of Cawell&Dainow, a design-led property development company that transforms London's overlooked sites into high-quality homes.

Download the 2026 Salary Guide: https://www.bespokecareers.com/salary-guide/Adam Haddow is an Australian architect, partner at SJB and the current National President of the Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA).In this conversation, Adam makes the case that architects have spent decades drifting toward irrelevance, avoiding the hard conversations about cities and housing while celebrating beautiful houses and hoping politicians notice. He believes that needs to stop.We cover what meaningful influence looks like for the profession, why AI is the biggest democratisation architecture has ever seen, how his own 67sqm terrace house is a direct argument against suburban sprawl, and what the RAIA needs to become to stay worth belonging to.SOCIAL LINKS:https://www.instagram.com/bespokecareers/https://www.linkedin.com/company/bespoke-career-management/https://www.tiktok.com/@bespokecareersHiring or looking for a job? Head here: https://www.bespokecareers.com/00:00 Intro00:53 Growing up in rural Victoria02:03 Early interest in architecture03:24 University experience05:45 The walk-in catchment philosophy07:12 Joining SJB10:08 Transitioning practice ownership13:22 Bringing in multidisciplinary voices17:13 The tiny terrace house project20:32 Housing density and apartment standards26:31 Becoming RAIA National President27:46 Architects and political relevance30:28 Rethinking the architecture profession43:02 How the architect identity has shifted45:44 Advice for the next generation

Lucy Carmichael, former Director of Practice at the RIBA and current Board Member for the University of the Built Environment, explains why the traditional, linear path into the industry is failing most students, and what the alternative looks like.From her upbringing with architect parents, to navigating the "heyday" of design policy at CABE, Lucy has spent her life 'falling in and out of love with architecture.' The thing that keeps her coming back is the huge potential for positive impact on society. We explore the "radical realism" of the London School of Architecture, the looming impact of AI on graduate roles, and why the most impactful architectural careers are often the ones that look the least traditional.00:00 Intro00:56 Route into architecture5:48 The reality check: first jobs in architecture8:10 Stepping out of practice9:38 The CABE movement14:17 Communication and storytelling in architecture18:41 Director of Practice at the RIBA27:10 The profession's lack of engagement with the RIBA33:08 The school that works differently (joining the LSA)35:25 "Radical Realism" - the LSA ethos47:04 AI and the future of the education and the profession55:18 Has her career turned out how she imagined?57:54 Career advice for the next generation

Kai-Uwe Bergmann is a Partner at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), where he leads global business development and oversees urban design and landscape projects. Known for his strategic approach to "the political scale," Bergmann has been instrumental in scaling BIG from a Copenhagen-founded practice into a global force operating in over 40 countries. He is a primary contributor to Manhattan’s "Big U," a 10-mile coastal resiliency project designed to protect the city from future climate events.BIG, often described as "pragmatic utopian," focuses on transforming complex societal challenges (from energy and food distribution to affordable housing) into opportunities for design innovation. Bergmann’s personal journey, spanning from a German upbringing to an apprenticeship in glassmaking and stone masonry, informs his belief that architecture is a "limitless" field that requires the investigative skills of a detective and the foresight of a strategist.0:00 Intro 1:09 Why architecture?7:57 Glass-blowing, apprenticeships, and the value of experiences13:21 Meeting Bjarke: A 20-year collaboration 17:43 Designing beyond election cycles 20:51 BIG's stratospheric rise32:51 What architecture school doesn't teach you 36:52 What should architects be doing more of?42:28 Scaling BIG and navigating the global scale 47:48 Balancing work-life and family life49:48 The importance of architecture and the role of the architect51:24 Architecture as a hopeful act

Simon Allford is never short of a view, and this conversation covers the parts of architecture people usually avoid.AHMM was founded in 1989 at possibly the worst moment in modern British architecture. Gold cards maxed out to cover office debt, competitions won but never built, consultancy work drying up. Those five years of survival shaped everything that followed. The rule from their student days still holds: the best idea wins, not yours or mine. If everyone's comfortable with a design, it's probably not good enough.His infamous "first we storm the building, then we take back the asylum" quote came from genuine frustration with an RIBA he felt had lost its purpose. Architecture, not architects. The internal politics proved harder than expected: some figures were "sinisterly unpleasant," but the House of Architecture concept survived. The collection is returning from storage, Portland Place is opening up, and he's still chairing fundraising for the Museum of Architecture.AHMM now has seven new executive directors and a global team of 400+. Growth was never the goal, they used to joke about never exceeding thirty people, but scale found them anyway. If you want an honest take on what architecture is really like from the inside, and how to survive those (sometimes) brutal early years - this is a great place to start.00:00 Intro01:28 Becoming an architect05:30 Founding AHMM11:09 The first five brutal years18:37 The success of AHMM26:07 The RIBA presidency and 'that' quote28:47 The House of Architecture and the role of the RIBA32:29 The value of architecture and public engagement42:12 Succession planning at AHMM46:40 Mentorship and the next generation of architects50:30 AI, critical thinking and the future of architecture56:51 Following in his father's footsteps (and his daughters in his)

Sarah Gibson & Nicholas Karlovasitis leave uni, cram a fledgling furniture brand into a Newtown flat, and decide they are going to export Australian design to the world. That is the starting point for DesignByThem. In this episode we unpack how fifteen years later, they're actually pulling it off.We talk about building a design brand from a tiny local market, backing Australian designers, and choosing factories around the world without losing the integrity of the work. The conversation gets into IP, copies, pricing, cashflow, and why treating business as a design problem changed everything for them.If you care about turning design from a side project into a viable brand, this one is worth your time.0:00 Intro1:22 Why design still hooks them after all these years3:00 Chasing ideas that make beautiful things accessible4:08 Childhood Lego, pulling things apart and thinking like designers5:11 Sarah’s path from obsessive floor plans to industrial design6:10 Education, UTS and putting Australian industrial design on the map7:34 Spotting the gap and founding DesignByThem as a collective9:39 Building a platform for Australian designers not just a personal studio11:02 Royalties, collaboration and why the best invoices go to other designers13:08 Designers as business people and treating business like a design problem15:09 Systems and spreadsheets16:29 How they find designers and why so many wait to be discovered19:29 Social media, saturation and why direct outreach still wins21:35 Young designers, polish, missing knowledge and the AI trap22:56 Why outsourcing the concept is a mistake and IP is everything24:16 Using AI for the boring bits so more time goes into design24:23 Sustainability, materials and designing for the full life cycle27:15 Greenwashing, regulation and how far Australia needs to go33:20 Working with architects and interiors and learning from clients34:50 Feedback loops, data and using colour and custom work smartly39:21 Australian craft as limitation and why they went global with manufacturing41:42 Balancing local pride, accessibly priced products and global factories43:52 Turning furniture design from a second job into a real career45:03 Educating the public and putting the designer behind the product50:03 How products, brands and spaces work together in the real world53:12 Their Smart Design Studio workspace and why the setting matters55:33 What they have learned, what they would change and why they still love coming to work

Shawn Adams is an architect and outreach lead at HTA Design. He co founded POoR Collective (Power Out Of Restriction), a platform that works with young people to co design projects and build real skills. His work sits at the intersection of practice, education and community, bringing young voices into live briefs and treating them as the client.He is a published writer with bylines in Wallpaper, Frame and Icon. He trained at Portsmouth and the Royal College of Art, and came through the New Architecture Writers programme. Shawn’s focus is clear. Make design public. Cut the jargon. Open the door for the next generation.0:00 - Intro1:15 - Why architecture?2:07 - Experience at architecture school4:20 - Founding the POoR Collective7:15 - What do the POor Collective do?8:38 - Finding the balance between designer and facilitator11:40 - Build the Way Internship12:40 - Getting people to believe in your ideas14:25 - Working at HTA Design19:32 - Becoming a published writer in design22:16 - The relationship between architecture and writing24:37 - The architect as the polymath28:22 - Communicating design via social media30:38 - Drop the jargon33:19 - Increasing representation in architecture36:13 - Has your career turned out how you imagined?40:18 - Advice for the next generation43:46 - What change do you hope to see in the industry?

Download the reportHere is the State of Sustainability in Architecture and Design 2025. A clear view of how sustainability is shaping hiring, skills and careers right now, based on a global survey of 350 professionals across the UK, US and Australia, plus straight talk from six pioneers who are pushing practice forward.Chris Simmons speaks with editor Hattie Hartman to unpack the findings. You will hear what candidates want, which skills are in demand, how teams are built, why evidence beats slogans, and where firms fall short between big promises and delivery.Featuring insights from Andrew Waugh, Kossy Nnachetta, Tamar Warburg, Heather Holddridge, Caroline Pidcock and David Ritter.Watch, take notes, then grab the free report and both handbooks for employers and candidates. Use them to hire smarter, structure teams with intent and build the skills that actually get you hired.