What it is like to work at Weston Williamson + Partners, ft. Chris Williamson

What it is like to work at Weston Williamson + Partners, ft. Chris Williamson
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Stephen Drew: Hello everyone. Put down that Revit model. We'll make a cheeky half an hour on your lunch break. I've got a treat, planes, trains or automobiles and more than that. Residential you are in for a treat. 20 seconds, 25 seconds or will be revealed

15 seconds.

Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us on this Tuesday lunchtime special strapper, minimize Microsoft Teams for just a little [00:01:00] bit because I've got an awesome treat for you, whether you are in the Architecture industry or you're a student who's ready to graduate. I've got an awesome I've got an awesome guest here who I know from the industry which is Chris Williamson.

Chris, how are you today?

Chris Williamson: Really good. Thank you. Looking forward to it.

Stephen Drew: I appreciate you being here. And so Chris, for anyone that's not met you before, while I know Western Williamson Partners, could you tell me briefly about yourself?

Chris Williamson: Yeah, sure. I I met Andrew Weston when I was at Lester Poly. We were about two or three years below Ken Shuttleworth, who was an inspiration to us. And Andrew and I. Got put for group projects in alphabetical order. They said, Williamson, you can work with Western. And we found we had compatible skills, different skills, but similar interests apart from music.

[00:02:00] Andrew loved modern jazz and I liked seventies disco. And he famously once asked me to write down the words of, Get down on it by calling the gang to, to show him how rubbish the it was. But anyway, Colin, the gang actually had a Hollywood star on Hollywood Boulevard, but we got, we, we found that we loved working together in Architecture.

We, we had similar interests. It was the 1975 mid seventies climate crisis, which was a function of the oil crisis. And we were both interested in, we started to get interested in sustainability. It was a long time ago. But that's what's driven our current practice in looking at getting people outta their cars onto safe, efficient public transport.

But the. The sort of bones of that were in the 1970s, Andrew won a competition judged by Norman [00:03:00] Foster for the Glass and Glazing Federation, and I won the less glamorous. Implant award judged by tarmac. But we carried on working together after we left Leicester because of our similar interests.

I went to work at Michael Hopkins. Andrew went to work at Richard Rogers, and after about five years, we put all our entries together for competitions and for small private jobs, and it got accepted for the 1985. 40, under 40 competition. And out of that 40, there's really only us and allies in Morrison that are still together.

So there's some, we must be doing something right. And we've we've always had some the same philosophy that Architecture should be good should be interesting, should be fun. Architects work incredibly hard. It's a very serious business [00:04:00] looking after somebody else's money and all the contractual aspects of it, but we should be able to have a bit of fun as well.

And it's nice that Andrew's been a friend all these years as well as a colleague, and I feel very lucky to have had him as a partner and So that's a sort of long winded explanation of as to who we are. We started working together in Andrew's front bedroom, just the two of us. And now there are over 200 of us in five different countries.

So it's grown. It's been, it is taken 40, nearly 40 years. But it's grown into something really worthwhile. I think we've done some amazing projects and helped, going back to those early days of sustainability and climate change. When we started in the eighties, there weren't that many people that were interested in climate change.

It was the Thatcher years [00:05:00] and everybody was going for growth and not really interested in sustainability. So we've seen fashions change. And the mood of Architecture changed throughout the years, but it's we feel like we've contributed something interesting to the climate change debate by focusing really on safe, efficient, well-designed public transport and playing our part in doing something to alter the way cities work.

Stephen Drew: Nice. I think it it's. It proves the point, right? You can start in the bedroom, but you can make it all the way cuz 200 people at the moment. That's quite that's a large Architecture practice in the uk And that's what I was gonna ask you at the moment. So in what I'm quite keen at, because I know that you've done some amazing.

Transport hubs, links, stations, which I alluded to at the start, but as well as that you do all these [00:06:00] different types of projects. So what I was just wondering if you've got a spare moment, Chris, can you give us a little bit of an insight on what Western Williamson partners get up to today in terms of types of projects and stuff?

Chris Williamson: Yeah. We have been very lucky to work on lots of different kinds of projects. In any architect's office, it's always good to have variety, to have different things happening in the office at different scales. Refurbishments we've, a lot of our early work was refurbishments design studios working for companies like Michael Peters and Tony Vines that were graphic designers and fantastic industrial designers doing small scale work.

Really interesting refurbishments and we got a lot of enjoyment out of it. But then after about five years we won the Julee Lion project for London Bridge and that kind of type casters. We also found that we [00:07:00] enjoyed it. We liked working with civil engineers. We liked looking at the way cities were shaped.

By transport projects. We've done all sorts of different projects. In the meantime. We've always had interesting projects in the office. We've done a church hall, we've done a school, we won a competition in Boston America for a, again, against 300 international entries for a $50 million. Biotech center for an amazing client who started off in his garage and now employs thousands of people.

In the research industry, but we've found that it's hard to get repeat business from those sorts of clients. It's hard. It's hard to we to get clients that you know, a lot, most our clients in Architecture might only build something once in a lifetime. But [00:08:00] because of our interest in transport and everything that it all the values that it has and the way it's shaped cities, it's it helps combat climate change, it helps regenerate communities.

We, we've specialized in that and that's led us to. Work abroad. So we have offices in Sydney and Melbourne, in Toronto, in Riyadh now. And it's been a fantastic career. It's not what I thought I would've probably end up doing. I, there's a side of me that wishes we'd done more cultural projects and, but there's also still time to do that.

I'm not finished yet and I've got a new lease of life. I've just bought an old church in my hometown of Ton in Darbyshire, which I've regenerated at this disused beautiful church to a community art [00:09:00] center. So that's that, that I think, most people I met meet in the Architecture profession.

I've been. Heavily involved in the RIBA and heavily involved in the company of architects. Most architects are incredibly passionate, incredibly hardworking, but it's a very broad career and it sometimes helps to specialize to say, this is what we do, particularly when it comes to working abroad.

We've been lucky to work abroad on different kinds of projects, but primarily we've got this specialism in transport, Architecture that everybody in the office really loves. And we, as an office, we are very we like to share the responsibility. We're not dogmatic in the way that we design. We try and involve everybody.

And the kind of projects that we do means that you can give people [00:10:00] responsibility for different aspects of the project and help them realize their own ambitions within the office. So we've always wanted to. Be a very inclusive office and try and share out the design responsibility to involve everyone.

And we have we try and make it as friendly as possible. Obviously it is, architects work hard, but we have a football team. We have a basketball team, sorry, netball team softball. We have life drawing classes book club and tr, Photo photographer photography competitions and Friday ideas where we try and look at I projects that other people are doing or things that are going to improve the city.

Looking at ideas that we, if we dreaming up our own solutions for the embankment or the way that the river works or whatever. [00:11:00] So it's trying to have a bit of fun among, amongst all the work I think.

Stephen Drew: Nice. Yeah, that's brilliant cuz and you've given a bit of insight there, which is great. I've always wondered what the typical day in the life of an Architect in your company is Chris. Years ago when I was a part one I have, I applied to join your practice and I went for an interview, but this was during the pandemic and it was just a tough time at the moment and you guys made a great impression.

I, in the end, I went to epr, but I always wondered what would've been like to work. In your studio, and you've given a few insights there, but what is it like now then Chris, in 2023 to work in the London studio, for example?

Chris Williamson: I'm probably not the best person to ask, to be honest, but I think we've always tried to keep to the same values. I think. The only metrics you can look at is [00:12:00] people leaving and people being happy. And we obviously have regular reviews. We have a efficient, I think a good mentoring system where we talk to everybody about what they want to achieve in their career because it, it is easy to.

For us to tell people what we need them to do, but in order to mentor them it, the older I get the more I feel we are on this planet for a short time to help each other and to help get people to, to realize their own ambitions, to raise them up. You're lucky. I think if you meet I've been incredibly lucky to meet four or five people that raise you up, that encourage you to do things and take you to the next level.

And you've got to keep giving people those opportunities and find out what they want to do and give them that opportunity to do [00:13:00] it. So I, I think. At the moment it's quite competitive in trying to find staff, so people have a choice of where they're going to work. We're always aware of that and trying to make the offer of working for us or the, or they.

Sort of potentially boring things, but very important things like life insurance and healthcare and pensions and they're all holidays and remote working. They're all good. But also making sure people have a. A career structure. They know in five or 10 years time what grade they can aim for and how far they can go.

And I think I, I had a wonderful time at Michael Hopkins and I think Andrew would probably say the same about Richard Rogers, but I don't think I, either of us really knew if we stayed where we would end up because they, they're quite, at [00:14:00] that time, architects weren't very focused on. Career development and they the, I think that's always a problem.

When I was at college, there were so many fantastic architects like Powell and Moya Chamberlain Powell, and Bon Shepherd Robson. That did amazing work. But when the original partners left, There was a kind of downturn because the partners that came in didn't have the same values and didn't have the same philosophy.

And some of them don't exist anymore. Some of them almost have to wait a few, another generation before coming back. So trying to look at how you give away responsibility, which is tough to do cuz you know, not many years ago I used to. Organized the Christmas party, used to choose the Christmas crackers, used to do everything that, [00:15:00] you know.

Now I've got no idea where we are going for Christmas lunch or whatever. And I, there's still parts of me that is quite controlling, but you have to learn to let go and let other people, you can't give responsibility. To people without delegating the authority to get on and do it and not complain.

If you don't like the Christmas crackers or whatever it is, whatever minor thing IIT irritates you, you just have to get on with it. But I think it's an art to having that sort of succession and bringing on people that, but I think that's one of the things I love about my job is, Seeing a graduate walk through the door for an interview.

It reminds me so much of when I did that. You walk through the door of somebody and you're nervous and you don't know where your career's going to go. But seeing them in five years time, there's some people that [00:16:00] have, were here for five years working on Crossrail and then went out to Australia with us working on the mo.

Melbourne Metro and it's just fantastic to see that they've got married or they've got kids, or they've got dogs or they've got lovers and it is nice to see, be part of that. It's, I get just as much enjoyment out of that side of the business as I do about the Architecture. I think we forget.

That we are in a people business and we have to nurture people, and we're, you, we've I think I've got a responsibility to help raise those people up and help them achieve their aims as other people have helped me in my almost 40 years in the business. So yeah I'm still enjoying my work and still enjoying the practice and hopefully, You'd have to speak to other people here to find out the other [00:17:00] side of, but we try anyway.

That, that's our aim to try and share out. And, it's a hard I teach at London School of Architecture and I'm a visiting professor at East London University. So I try and keep abreast of what young people are doing and thinking and what they want to do, and. It has changed a lot but the basics haven't changed much and there's still not many problems that I see that we haven't encountered before.

Obviously technology has changed a lot and, the world's a slightly different place. A lot of it for the better, but some of it not so good. We have huge challenges ahead. But I'm, I've always been an optimistic person, and I'm sure we'll get those. We'll achieve the right solutions.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. Yeah. May, makes complete sense. It does sound all exciting. What I was going to ask you, cause you talked [00:18:00] about future generations and that you enjoy seeing people come up and through and being part of that family in your office and developing through their careers. A lot of the audience, Chris, at the moment, ah, Maybe architects earlier in their career or maybe they, becoming qualified and so on and so forth, what would you, and you've conducted a lot of interviews running an Architecture practice.

What I'd love to ask you is, do you have any insights or little pearls of wisdom that you would impart for anyone that's looking for a job at the moment? Perhaps, maybe it's. Questions or approaches they never thought to ask, or maybe things that you've seen over the years which you think stood out for you amongst the many people that you've perhaps met.

Chris Williamson: I'm often surprised just how many people get the basics wrong when they come for an interview that they, the right, right from the very first letter that they write, or often now it'll be an email rather than [00:19:00] a letter, but we get people writing saying, oh, we love your, I love your work.

I admire what you do. And then they haven't blank carbon, they haven't blank copied everybody else in. You can see who they've sent exactly the same email to and that, fundamental things like that. I think. We, if you're going to say something like that, you have to give evidence of the things that you like, and you if you say something like that in a letter and then you turn up for an interview, you at least you have to name one project that that they've done.

And if you make the mistake of getting the name wrong or getting the project wrong or is.

It is no different to how we would go about choosing a, I know a craftsman or somebody to paint the house or whatever is you've got to show enthusiasm. And if you [00:20:00] don't show enthusiasm and interest why would anybody else be interested?

If there were choices, then you are at the bottom of the. Of the choice because you haven't been enthusiastic, so you've got to, be honest. Be honest and I think enthusiasm in life goes a long way. And you've got to have the technical skills.

But I think I've always given the benefit of the doubt. And I think other people have as well. When you look at, one of the architects I admire the most is Norman Foster and he gave Mark Sutcliff when he was 28, the job of being Project Architect for the Willis favor. And the same with David Morley on the Reno factory.

If you're young enough and enthusiastic enough, You'll get that chance, you'll get that responsibility. And it is the same in sport. If somebody is good and [00:21:00] enthusiastic, even if they're young, you throw them into the team and you, you need people who are enthusiastic. If they're enthusiastic, they will learn and get better.

If they're not, it doesn't matter how good they are. They, if they're not team players, they won't really. Help you.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. Yeah.

Chris Williamson: I think a bit of enthusiasm and interest and a bit, it goes a long way to, to when you go for an interview when you're starting out, and cuz it, we're all, it's a very passionate profession.

You don't have to agree with everybody's design philosophy. I still get incredibly enthusiastic about going to see new buildings and then, when I was in, my must have been 30, when I went to see the, probably there, when I saw the Center Pompidou for the first time, I can remember running down the street.

I was so excited when I saw it in the distance to get to it. [00:22:00] So I think, that kind of enthusiasm to to still have that. Is where architects do get, it is a very long career, but a very exciting career. And we should rightly be really. Proud of it. I think, we've, there are some fantastic Architect, there's some fantastic Architecture around and it's getting really interesting, when you think of how technology has changed the way that we work.

Over the last 10 years in our business of mainly transport related Architecture, when you consider the technology will change the way we travel, Around and between our cities, it's going to have the most amazing effects on our urban environment. And I think it'll be fantastic. It'll be really interesting.

I think it, it's a very hopefully green and pleasant future [00:23:00] because of there'll be less. Cars, there'll be less people driving. There'll be more space for cyclists and pedestrians, and we've got the technology to build differently, to employ green technologies. And to make it a much more attractive city than it has been.

So I think, both the way that we're going to travel and the way that we're going to build our buildings and design them is incredibly exciting. And that we're going to have to. Maintain that level of enthusiasm and excitement because there's more and more people living in cities, moving to cities.

It's a worldwide issue and we've, if we designed those cities correctly and I think London has been a good. It led the world in some ways by cutting down, making it harder to drive, making it easier to take public transport. [00:24:00] And giving more space and time for pedestrian and cyclists, which is why, English architects and English ENG engineers have been invited to work abroad because everybody wants to learn from what London has done.

But we need to keep that up and make sure we are not complacent and keep ahead of the game because, China and the Far East Singapore. Lots of, they're incredibly quick learners. And 10 years ago we were doing quite a lot of project planning in China. And now, they learn very quickly what you can do and that some of the, I judge the World Architecture Awards every year and you see the entries from China.

It really is fantastic. So that they, we're going to have to continue. I, one of my big things at the RIBA was always C p D and [00:25:00] continual education. And I think if we are going to keep ahead of the game we really need to improve our lifelong learning and make sure we have something to offer, which other countries don't.

Stephen Drew: Yeah. Fair enough. I tell you what, we had one or two comments that came in when we were talking. Sander says, Hey Chris. Hello everyone. I was going to say for anyone in the audience, if there's a quick question that you wanted to answer, Chris, it's probably ask Chris, it's probably last trans salo.

I was gonna ask you, Chris, what you are excited to, what you are excited about in the future. You alluded to. The city and so on and so forth. But it may be perhaps in terms of Western Williamson and Partners what are you excited about in the ne in the short to medium term on the horizon?

Chris Williamson: So I've got a new lease of life, really. I'm in my mid sixties and I look at [00:26:00] people like, Norman Foster, who's in his mid eighties. And I hope I still have the same level of enthusiasm. I think I will have. I'm continually optimistic about the future and want to be a part of it. So I, we've just joined an engineering group, a French engineering group called Aegis.

And they primarily because they're giving us access to different markets. So we've now got opportunities that we haven't had for the last 10 years in, in different places, and that, that's incredibly exciting being able to. Take what we've learned in the UK and abroad in Australia and Canada, and take that into new markets.

And it, so that's a very exciting time. In terms of the business I'm now the chairman of Western [00:27:00] Williamson, and looking at those overseas, Markets to help the way that we work improving hopefully other than cities around the world. And yeah, it is. I, it depends on your nature.

I think as a, there are lots of problems in the world but I think I. We, we do tend to find a way of solving them. We, once we know what those problems are whether it's smoking or whether it's the combustion engine or whether it's coal burning fireplaces in, in Victorian terrorist houses, we do tend to do something about them.

And the challenges of global warming are immense, but we know what we need to do. We've just, it is harder to solve when you are relying on every [00:28:00] country in the world to do the bit. It's not something that can be solved by a handful of countries, but I think. It will happen.

And we know what we now know what we need to do and we do have the solutions to do it. And as architects and engineers, we need to. Put pressure on the politicians to make sure that we do that and to keep on banging the drum for climate change and sustainability. So it is, there's a lot, there's a lot to do.

And It's, it is a fantastic career to be part of and with lots of different opportunities. I've chosen my particular path, but other people in the office, the youngsters in the office, that they choose. The education, Architectural education is very expensive. So some of them choose to do different things like graphics or just or computer visualization or become very [00:29:00] technical or go into management.

So it is a very broad profession and there is a role for a lot of different kinds of people and a lot of different kinds of architects.

Stephen Drew: Nice. Chris, we've got before Last Chance Saloon, before you, you get swooped away. Cause I know you've got a lot of projects and we've caught you at lunch. I've had one or two things come in, I've had to double check in the background. And because while I'd like to prepare for these things, I must admit I'm not too sure.

If this is true or not, but she, Andras says when your next children book is coming out, I've Googled in the background when you were talking, there is a Chris Williamson who's done a children book. Is that you, Chris? Have you done a book?

Chris Williamson: is. Yeah. Thank you Shelly for that. That's very so yeah, that's taken me by spite. But I had my, my, I, I wrote a, it sort of something that I thought I would [00:30:00] have to wait till I retire to do, but I've always. It's something I've always wanted to do, and I've, when Jo, when lockdown happened and nobody, you couldn't go to the cinema anymore.

You, once you got tired of watching the box sets, I just thought I, this is what I'm going to do in the evening. I'm going to finish. I'm going to start and finish this children's book. So I wrote it, I did all the illustrations bef, or I did half of the illustrations and then, Asked a Spanish girl we had in the office who, who finished them off and redid, redid my illustrations as well and did a fantastic job.

But yeah, it was, it is based, if you want to know it's available you's it is based on that, that sketching friends were. Ross says he's, oh, Phoebe says she's your lobster and lobsters mate for life. They don't actually mate for life. That's a myth. But it's about two lobsters that fall in [00:31:00] love and then get separated in a tsunami and then find each other many years later.

But it's, it was, it I really enjoyed doing it. It was a fantastic thing to do and I suppose when I was at. When I was at school I had a place at Lester Poly to do graphic design, and that was, but then I picked up a book written by David Rock or David Rock had than all the illustrations about Architecture and Architecture had more of a sort of social purpose to it.

So I begged Lester to let Mr. The Architecture instead. But I still have this fascination and interest in the graphic arts. And Jeff so joined lockdown, I managed to finish my children's book so that, but that, that I thought I would have to wait for 20 years before I did it. But I haven't got any plans to do another one,

Stephen Drew: Oh, there

Chris Williamson: you never know.

Stephen Drew: And I, it is very interesting cause I. [00:32:00] I I would, I'd never done the research on the lobster fact from France. So I've learned a few things, Chris, partly about the practice Western Williamson. So thank you for that. But also about Children's book. There you go. Xandra you maybe have a second career in journalism or something cuz you found some.

Sneaky gems there. So Chris I appreciate all you've done. It's amazing. I'm gonna bring up the website one more time, but for anyone that's tuned in halfway, or maybe they've got a further question or they want to check out the website, or maybe they want to apply for a job, where do they get in contact with you?

Chris?

Chris Williamson: Yeah, it is very easy. We have a recruit mailbox, so it's recruit@westernwilliamson.com and everything gets looked at and you are, we are looking for people different levels. But yeah, recruit@westernwilliamson.com is would, is the best way of you, somebody will look at it and get back to you.

Stephen Drew: Brilliant. I will put that link [00:33:00] on really quickly just before we go. That is recruit@westernwilliamson.com. Thank you so much, Chris. I really appreciate it. I can't wait to see more projects that come up and maybe you can come back at some point and show us all those cool projects that you're now doing around the world.

At Western Williamson, but also part of the EIS group. So thank you so much for your time. I'm gonna end the livestream in a second. But stay on the stage for one minute. Chris, I'm just gonna say goodbye to everyone in the audience. I know we had one or two more questions that come in, but you can get into contact with Chris on LinkedIn as well and you can drop Weston Williamson an email.

Thank you so much for your time. I will end the live stream now. Chris, stay on the stage and thank you so much everyone for tuning in and I will see you soon. Take care everyone. Bye-bye.

Chris Williamson: Thank you.

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