The Most Underestimated Profession? - Chithra Marsh | RIBA Elections

What I Learned Starting A Design Studio (Without a Degree) - Mitch Jones

Want to work at amazing studios like Made For? You can browse our live jobs here: https://www.bespokecareers.com/jobs/At Bespoke we work with 1,000+ firms every year across the UK, US and Australia to find them great candidates just like you. Want to know where you salary sits in the market? Download our global Salary Guide: https://www.bespokecareers.com/salary-guide Mitch Jones built Made For, a Melbourne workplace strategy, architecture and interiors studio, without a design degree. Ten years on it's a team of twenty with a client list that runs from Starbucks to Autex to Yarra Valley Water. He started it with his wife Cara in a rundown Collingwood warehouse, and in this episode he's straight about the whole ten years. Why he's kept every pitch he's ever made. Why he wants to own less than half his own company. The hiring mistake he keeps making and regretting. How he reads a business before he designs a single desk. We get into what changed for offices after Covid, why he runs a studio that's built to not look like an office, and the part of the job he's certain AI won't touch. "Do you need a design degree to run a design business? You don't. In fact, I've got no degree at all."

How to Plot Your Own Path In Architecture - Selasi Setufe MBE

Selasi Setufe came out of architecture school with two degrees and couldn't get a job. Two interviews in two years. An unpaid internship in Slovenia she'd "highly not advise." So she stopped trying to fit the mould and built her own route through the profession.Selasi is a co-director of Black Females in Architecture, the network she co-founded in 2018 that now runs to a global membership of more than 400. She's a registered architect, a Public Practice alumna, and a Principal Project Officer in the GLA's Place Unit, after years as a Senior Architect at Be First in Barking and Dagenham. In 2022 she was awarded an MBE for services to diversity in architecture.In this conversation she gets into the two years she spent outside architecture after qualifying, the advice from Elsie Owusu about being the change rather than trying to fix a broken system, why she calls strategic work "architecture with a big A," what architecture education does to the students it can't accommodate, how BFA grew from a group chat into a social enterprise, and why she hesitated before accepting an MBE with "British Empire" in the name.

The Most Underestimated Profession? - Chithra Marsh | RIBA Elections

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/

Why Architects Aren't Taken Seriously - Duncan Baker-Brown | RIBA Elections

This 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: Duncan Baker-Brown Duncan Baker‑Brown is the founder of BakerBrown Studio, a small practice based in Brighton, and has over four decades’ experience combining practice, education, and policy. He is a university postgraduate course leader, author and internationally recognised advocate for low‑carbon, retrofit, and circular design. Duncan has represented RIBA at multiple UN COP summits and worked directly with the UK government on net‑zero, circular economy and retrofit policy, including VAT reform. His practice has delivered 100% social housing and is a Certified B Corporation. He brings a regionally grounded, research‑led perspective focused on fairness, sustainability and supporting practices across the UK and internationally. 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/

Has Architecture Lost Its Nerve? - Austin Williams | RIBA 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/