Hear from London Director, Chris Levett sharing his experience of securing his first project.

Everyone starts somewhere.

Bespoke Careers recently ran a lovely campaign interviewing architects about how they secured their very first project and the lessons they learned along the way.

Hear from our London Director, Chris Levett, as he shares his experience and the insights that have stayed with him throughout his career.

The project

Northwich Cultural Centre – a new arts centre in the north-west of England

The story

It was 2009 and the studio was on its knees. We had been working on new Further Education colleges which had all been cancelled on one day – we had lost most of the work in the studio and it was very hard to keep the lights on.

This was an international design competition which we needed to win but we were up against over 100 entries. The stakes were high! We worked through the night to get the final design and model made.

We made it through to the final three and loaded up my car (Saab convertible of course!) and drove from London up to Cheshire for the interview. The project architect’s Mum had made a cover for the model from black and white fabric (this being a pattern prevalent on the buildings in the town). We were very nervous but kept the model covered throughout the interview…..the panel’s curiosity grew and grew.

At the end of the interview we took the cover off to a collective WOW from everyone in the room. We won the competition beating a list of famous architects from around the world.

Sadly the project never happened – but the process we went through has informed many other successful bids since. The model was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 2010. For me this experience was so important for my confidence as a designer and to understand that when you can inspire your team and empower their determination and talent you can achieve anything – the world of architecture is not ‘sewn up’.

So my advice to the next generation is to look for inspiration through narrative but also through unusual sources, to come up with unique architecture, do not follow the crowd, believe in your ability to be different. I want to be shocked. I want to hear that WOW.

About Chris.