John Wood, who left Bolton School Boys’ Division in 2003 and now works as an architect, returned to deliver an instructive virtual presentation about his career to date to Y10 pupils in the first of a new series of World of Work talks.
John told how when he left Bolton School, he followed his instincts and took A levels in Maths, Physics and Art, subjects which he enjoyed and where his strengths lied. He then went on to study at the Manchester School of Architecture. The A levels which he pursued were, he said, fairly standard for getting you onto an Architecture degree but he advised that it is possible to take other A levels too, citing Geography as an example as architectural studies often consider urban environments. He said universities will also want to see that you have an ability to draw and a certain level of basic visual competence.
In terms of routes to qualification, John explained that, typically, it starts with a three-year degree. This is followed by what is known as a Stage 1 practical experience year, which is a paid graduate job during which you will have to write short reports or essays documenting your experience. The Part 2 phase is typically a Masters degree, which is a two-year full-time course. After completion of this you go back into practice. In that way, he said, becoming an architect aligns to many other professional qualifications such as engineering, dentistry and medicine where you spend a similar amount of time at university.
What is known as Part 3 is your last year of practical experience. After this – what is effectively year seven – he told how you then sit your exams to gain your professional qualifications.
John recapped how he had worked in several different environments as an architect, giving the pupils a feel for some of the different projects you can work on. He explained that he had spent 10-15 years working in commercial practice usually working on big projects like schools or hospitals and how, in more recent year, he has run his own small business with three staff working on much smaller concerns such as shops, houses and small hotels. He also told how he teaches at the Manchester School of Architecture.
John gave an overview of a fairly typical day for an architect which might involve doing surveys and being out and about measuring up on sites; he explained how a big part of the job is talking to people and that communication skills are really important. He said he may also spend part of the day on design and plans and that you need to be able to understand how materials work, what is going to stand up and also what is going to meet regulations. Some of his time will also be spent considering consents – the life of an architect involves dealing with lots of building regulations and applications. A typical day, he said, might also include a visit to a site to check that a project is being built to specifications.
He showed three examples of projects that he was worked on across different scales. New Cross Emergency Department at Wolverhampton, where a lot of specialist knowledge about hospitals was required; Lews Castle in the Outer Hebrides – once owned by Lord Leverhulme – where he was involved with turning the derelict Victorian castle into a five star hotel; and Renshaw Street in Altrincham, a dwelling where much thought had to be given to people’s living spaces.
In the questions and answers session, John spoke about how you need to be interested in things – he advised that research skills are important as you are often parachuted into a sector that you need to quickly understand, such as hospitality or healthcare. He recalled working on a project trying to revive a post-industrial town centre and how a series of events that pulled in a number of high profile artists and creatives helped in the planning process as they got people talking about what it is that makes a place special.
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