Business of Architecture UK Podcast

This week, I'm speaking with the brilliant Paul Iddon of AgencyPSI. Paul has got over 30 years of experience in construction, architecture, and marketing. He's run his own architecture firm, OMI Architects, and then h developed his own marketing agency, developing brand and engagement strategies with architects and manufacturers. Paul is also the Vice President of the Manchester Society of Architects and a Council member of RIBA NW. In this episode, we investigate what makes architects tick, the collective value of the word "Architect" as a brand, and how understanding our psychology helps us be better salespeople, marketers, and better architects. THIS WEEK'S RESOURCES Access your free training at http://SmartPracticeMethod.com/ If you want to speak directly to our advisors, book a call at https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/call Paul's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauliddon/ AgencyPSI Ltd: https://agencypsi.com/

Are you being compensated both in recognition and money for the enormous value you bring to the table as an architect? Do your clients clearly recognize your value? Can they articulate it? Can YOU articulate it? Often there is a misalignment between the perception of us as architects and our clients in terms of the value of our services. It is a basic question, our services are valuable, but how valuable? And how much of that value are you capturing? It isn't uncommon for design professionals to have their fees questioned and examined by clients, be price-shopped, and compete with other firms on fee alone. This creates a working pressure that decreases the quality of work and creative innovation, not to mention stress and business problems for practitioners. Ultimately, any commercial transaction is a transaction of value. Each party exchanges something of value for something they value more. Often, we think of value exchange in terms of money, but money is merely a representation of value, not value itself. Money has no inherent value, only the perception of value. This reasoning informs how to position, describe and value architectural services. When we understand this, we realize that value is not a fixed construct, but it is something that can be molded, influenced and shaped. Today we continue the conversation from last week on how to communicate the value of architecture.

This week, I am speaking to Seán McAlister, one of the Co-Founders of Seán and Stephen, an architectural practice based in East London who specialize in residential, public work, art installations, residential development, co-working spaces, as well as temporary museum installations, and high street regeneration projects. Many architects that I speak to are looking at new ways of evolving their business models. Sean has done exactly that with the creation of the company Pencil and Brick, a one-stop-shop design and build company where Seán has taken on wearing the hats of project manager, contractor. In this episode, he talks to us about many of the constraints that he experienced whilst delivering residential projects, both from the architectural design side and from the contractor team's side, and how Pencil and Brick seeks to solve many of these constraints. THIS WEEK'S RESOURCES Access your free training at http://SmartPracticeMethod.com/ If you want to speak directly to our advisors, book a call at https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/call Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smmcalister/ Seán and Stephen: https://seanandstephen.com/

This week, I'm speaking with Simon Pitkeathley. Simon is the CEO of the business improvement district, Camden Town Unlimited and the Euston Town, as well as being the CEO of the Camden Collective and the Camden Highline. He's also the Co-chair of the Cross River Partnership and the Chair of Camden Giving. Simon sites on the London Enterprise Action Partnership, otherwise known as LEAP, and is its Champion for Small Busines. During the pandemic, Simon was seconded to the Mayor's Covid Business Forum and the London Transition Board where he chaired the business reopening strategy group. He now sits on the London Recovery Board and is now leading the Camden Highline project since its inception in 2017. In this conversation, Simon and I discuss what Camden Town Unlimited is, how it operates, how it aids and facilitates business growth and us, as architects role in placemaking, and how they are facilitating this project, Camden Highline. Simon talks about how that operates, what the Camden Town Limited does, and how they interact and interface with the public, and also how they work with architects. THIS WEEK'S RESOURCES Access your free training at http://SmartPracticeMethod.com/ If you want to speak directly to our advisors, book a call at https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/call Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pitkeathley/ Camden Highline: https://www.camdenhighline.com/

This week, I'm speaking with Jane Middlehurst, one of the founders of HomeNotes - a learning platform that teaches and helps people navigate the often complex and stressful process of home renovation. Jane is an Architect and RIBA client adviser who set up Poulsom Middlehurst in 2012, an architectural practice specialising in residential architecture, with her Co-Founder Amy Poulsom. After both becoming parents at the same time, they took a step back from their practice and set up HomeNotes as a new venture where they are now using their experience as architects and practice owners to make the home renovation process less stressful, less risky, and more enjoyable for homeowners. In this episode, Jane tells us the story behind HomeNotes, how it started, the factors that compelled them to jump into this new venture, and how their desire to help clients through the process of home renovation developed into full-blown learning platform. Jane also walks us through the client experience, why there's distrust in the process, and how HomeNotes aims to fill in these gaps and promote a smoother and more positive experience for both the homeowner and architect. THIS WEEK'S RESOURCES Access your free training at http://SmartPracticeMethod.com/ If you want to speak directly to our advisors, book a call at https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/call Jane's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-middlehurst/ HomeNotes: https://homenotes.co/

This week, I'm speaking with Jason Geen and James Ewen of Apt. Jason started his career at Ellis Williams where he worked on The Stirling Prize-nominated Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts, then working at Stanton Williams and YRM, before joining Apt in 2011. At Apt, Jason is a Director, Studio Leader, and member of the Board. He has been instrumental in the development and growth of the company to an Employee ownership Trust in 2018 and provides strategic direction and design overview across the practice's portfolio of projects, encompassing several sectors, typologies, and scales. Jason is an active member of the London Arts scene, having recently completed tenures as a trustee of several arts-based institutions. He has also been a board member of the Bloomsbury Festival and was recently invited to join the esteemed jury for the Architecture MasterPrize in 2021. James joined Apt in 2013. He is a Trustee Board member, Project Leader and contributes to the strategic development of Apt and its culture. He has overseen some of the practice's largest projects including the 17.5-acre Fulham Gasworks Masterplan which creates a new residential community delivering almost 2000 new homes. His extensive experience spans overseeing projects within several different sectors, typologies, and scales. He recently completed 400 & 450 Longwater Avenue, a 297,500 sq.ft, twin office building in Reading which was designed to achieve a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating and Well Building Standard® 'Platinum Certification'. In this episode, Jason Geen and James give us an insight into their company structure, what is an employee-owned trust and how the shift from traditional to EOT re-energised the studio and provided an environment that attracts, retains, and incentivizes employees. They share their commitment to facilitating change in the industry, and how their own change/rebrand reflects the values of the firm that is now Apt. They also discuss a very important apprenticeship scheme and how Apt has been encouraging the growth of new architects and how they are cultivating talent. THIS WEEK'S RESOURCES Access your free training at http://SmartPracticeMethod.com/ If you want to speak directly to our advisors, book a call at https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/call Jason's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-geen-75a88040/ James' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-ewen-a616b314/ Apt https://apt.london/

This week, I'm speaking with Ackroyd Lowrie co-Founder and Director, Oliver Lowrie. Prior to starting Ackroyd Lowrie with partner Jon Ackroyd, Oliver spent 10 years working at Architype where he was responsible for developing a modular, timber-framed construction system that was used by several London Boroughs to deliver new Primary Schools and Nurseries. He studied at Sheffield University for his Part 1, and Oxford Brookes for his Part 2, and completed his training at Westminster in 2012. He regularly lectures on sustainable design at Nottingham University and has tutored at Oxford Brookes. Oliver's work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy as part of the Urban Utopias exhibition and has been published in Blueprint and FX Magazine. In this episode, Oliver shares his experience in running a fast-growing architecture practice, how investing in advisers early in the practice had paid itself back many times over, their approach to nurturing client and contractor relationships, and how they are optimizing every part of the practice and aligning it with their vision of building the cities of the future. THIS WEEK'S RESOURCES Access your free training at http://SmartPracticeMethod.com/ If you want to speak directly to our advisors, book a call at https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/call Oliver's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-lowrie-63837b34 Ackroyd Lowrie https://www.ackroydlowrie.com/

This week, we have strategic partner and coach Britta Siggelkow of THINK:BUILD and architect James Hampton, Founding Director of New Makers Bureau. Britta is an accredited professional coach and consultant, and an experienced architect in the built environment, whose career has taken her around the world including Australia, Germany, and the UK. In 2018, she founded THINK:BUILD, a coaching and consulting practice, created to give architects and designers the time and space to see their practice holistically. James has worked for a number of leading architecture practices including Will Alsop and Studio Egret West, where he led the Park Hill project, Europe's largest listed building, winning the Architect's Journal Retrofit award and reaching the RIBA Stirling prize shortlist. James co-founded a combined architecture and landscape practice, Periscope, in 2015 prior to founding New Makers Bureau in 2020, He has lectured both in the UK and internationally and is currently teaching at the Bartlett Master's school. He's also recently appeared on the BBC's Panorama programme sharing his views about how to save the High Street. In this episode, we take this opportunity of having both a practice owner and their consultant and explore the work that they've been doing together in working ON the business. We specifically look at the vision framework, what happens when you don't have one in place, how to go about defining and discovering your vision, and how having that as your foundation serves as your guide in designing a practice that's authentic to you. THIS WEEK'S RESOURCES Access your free training at http://SmartPracticeMethod.com/ If you want to speak directly to our advisors, book a call at https://www.businessofarchitecture.co... Britta's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittasiggelkow/ Think:Build Consulting https://www.thinkbuild.consulting/ James' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-hampton-2307235a/ New Makers Bureau: https://www.newmakersbureau.com/

This week, I'm speaking with Tania Ostanina, User Experience Designer for LexisNexis. Tania had a fully-established career in architecture, reaching up to a senior associate role, before deciding to shift gears and take on human-computer interaction design. In 2019, she took her Master's degree in Human Computer Interaction, and has been awarded the Outstanding Project Prize by the Department of Computer Science at City University for her dissertation on harnessing persuasive technology and mobile app design to foster effective climate change communication. As a UX designer, she is currently working on the user experience of a suite of B2B, highly-specialised, subscription-only digital publishing products for LexisNexis UK as well as helping drive discovery and innovation. In this episode, we discuss what is UX, how her foundation in architecture benefitted her career in UX Design, what are the parallels and main differences between UX and architecture design, and what are some lessons that architects could be learning from UX designers in improving the user experience. THIS WEEK'S RESOURCES Access your free training at http://SmartPracticeMethod.com/ If you want to speak directly to our advisors, book a call at https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/call Tania's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/silvertrailux/ To know more about UX and Tania's work, visit: https://silvertrailux.medium.com/