Rosie Thirlwell AT emerging talent award winner and senior architectural technologist

1 Introducing our guest editor, Rosie Thirlwell
2 Choose some articles that draw your eye and explain a little why they are of interest to you.
3 Can you tell us a little about your background, activities and interest in buildings?
4 Do you think there are specific areas of knowledge lacking across the industry currently?
5 Do you think there is value in sharing knowledge across disciplines and institutions and why? What do you think are the main barriers and possible solutions to sharing and applying knowledge?
6 How did you first discover Designing Buildings?
7 Would you like to nominate someone for the guest editor slot?
8 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] Introducing our guest editor, Rosie Thirlwell

Rosie is an award winning Senior Architectural Technologist at FaulknerBrowns Architects. She sits on the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) Northern Region committee, is a proud ambassador for the Architects Benevolent Society (ABS) and forms part of FaulknerBrowns’ Well-Being and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Groups as well as staff mentoring programme.

Rosie was the founding chair of CIAT Northern Region AspirATion Group which was set up to support students, recent graduates and newly qualified professionals entering the discipline, as well as working with CIAT to help shape the future of Architectural Technology. It is a dynamic, forward-thinking and inclusive network, acting as the gateway into furthering your career within the discipline.

Rosie was shortlisted for the G4C Trainee of the Year at University and won Highly Commended for the G4C Future Leader Award in 2022. She was nominated for and won the CIAT Emerging Talent in the Technology of Architecture Award for her passion for detail-oriented work and innovative design solutions as well as her experience in public sector works with particular interests in sport and leisure as well as active engagement in various profession related initiatives. Rosie wasn't able to make it to the AT awards evening as Storm Babet had other ideas, so we wanted to give her a chance to share her story and stories that interest her as our guest editor for Designing Buildings.

[edit] Choose some articles that draw your eye and explain a little why they are of interest to you.

As an Architectural Technologist one of the most important pieces of legislation that has come into place recently is the Building Safety Act 2022. Trying to determine what this means for the industry is quite the challenge. “This Act makes ground-breaking reforms to give residents and homeowners more rights, powers, and protections – so homes across the country are safer.” It came in to force on 1st October 2023 and affects all buildings in England and Wales and has special measures for High Risk Buildings. In the next few months the industry will need to continue to unpick what this means and how we move forward. The importance of understanding what the Building Safety Act means really speaks for itself, as a CIAT member this article is a great resource to help us act upon that. You can find more here on Designing Buildings: AT Building Safety Hub and on the CIAT Website: https://architecturaltechnology.com/resources/building-safety-hub.html

As well as working as a Senior Architectural Technologist, I also sit on the Well-being and CSR groups at FaulknerBrowns Architects. These are particularly important to me and how we can impact staff as well as the wider community. I am therefore, highlighting the article about Corporate Social Responsibility in Construction as a reminder that we have a duty to have a positive impact on the community and wider society, whether this be an environmental responsibility, social responsibility or something different. Working in the sport and leisure industry this is perhaps easier to quantify than other sectors. When a building is opened it is great to see the engagement figures from the local communities.

We like to engage with communities local to our projects. It is important to remember that the community you are part of isn’t just where your office is located. As a practice we recently completed a community theatre project in London which I went to visit once it was opened, listening to the diverse number of groups who use the space (such as Charities, local cultural groups, parents and toddlers etc.) was just fantastic and was a great reminder that what we do really does make a difference. (Above image credit: FaulknerBrowns Architects and Rachel Ferriman)

You can find more here on DB: Corporate social responsibility in construction CSR

Architects Benevolent Society are a charity dedicated to supporting members of the architectural community, past and present. ABS provides support services to over 1000 people a year across the UK in areas such as Money & Debt, Mental Health & Wellbeing and Housing Advice. ABS aims to empower people in the architectural community to flourish and live full and rewarding lives whilst following their passion for architecture and design. I am proud to be an ambassador.

You can find more here on DB: Architects Benevolent Society (ABS)

A recent article that caught my attention from the CIAT website was CIAT and CIOB sign renewed Memorandum of Understanding. It is important that different Institutes come together with a shared understanding, that we as members can collaborate and share knowledge. We work in an industry made up of many disciplines and it is vital that we all work together for a common goal.

“This will allow us to enhance and capitalise on our shared knowledge and expertise, to improve industry standards, promote good practice, increase opportunities and develop services to our members and affiliates” Tara Page, CIAT’s Chief Executive

https://architecturaltechnology.com/resource/ciat-and-ciob-sign-renewed-memorandum-of-understanding.html

On a lighter note I have recently read a very interesting article which was of particular interest for me working in the sport and leisure sector about data centres being used to heat swimming pools, this is currently being piloted at Exmouth Leisure Centre, Devon. (Image above used for illustration purposes only, credit FaulknerBrowns Architects and Jim Stephenson)

https://www.positive.news/society/data-centres-heating-swimming-pools/

[edit] Can you tell us a little about your background, activities and interest in buildings?

I started my journey in the Built Environment in 2012 at Northumbria University reading Architectural Technology and winning the CIAT Outstanding Student Award. I now work as a Senior Architectural Technologist at FaulknerBrowns Architects with a specialism in Sport and Leisure. I really enjoy working on public sector projects and seeing the impact buildings have on local communities and how they contribute to both the physical and mental health of individuals.

For those who haven’t heard of an Architectural Technologist before it’s an amazing job. It is a creative and innovative design discipline which integrates architecture, science, technology and engineering.

Our Institute is the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT), and you can find more out here: https://architecturaltechnology.com/about/whereitsat.html

I recently won the CIAT Emerging Talent in the Technology of Architecture Award which was a great surprise! I am really passionate about promoting the role of Architectural Technologists and the amazing work we do and I hope to inspire the next generation and to help drive change. My latest goal is to help set up a course for Architectural Technology in the North East, currently no institutions are offering this and there is such a huge demand from practice.

If you are a college / university in the North East reading this – please get in touch!

https://architecturaltechnology.com/atawards/at-awards-2023-winners-gallery/winner-emerging-talent-technology-of-architecture.html

[edit] Do you think there are specific areas of knowledge lacking across the industry currently?

I’ve talked about the Building Safety Act and the industry trying to grasp what this means, but I think we also need to evaluate how we are going to reach the net zero carbon targets that have been set. I think as an industry we are making a start on this but we as a collective need to work together to make significant progress and fast! The RIBA North East host Sustainability Mastermind Sessions which are inter-architect and inter-practice events, to help create a sense of community; challenge; learn; develop and practice. You can take along a part of a project or a construction detail for review and discussion, with sustainability and the RIBA 2023 Climate Challenge at the forefront.

Post occupancy evaluation is also an area that needs more research and work. It would be great if lessons learnt were shared more openly between projects to make us all better designers.

[edit] Do you think there is value in sharing knowledge across disciplines and institutions and why? What do you think are the main barriers and possible solutions to sharing and applying knowledge?

I completely agree that there is value in sharing knowledge across disciplines and Institutions. We don’t work in silo’s so why would we not work together to the benefit of everyone? I think perhaps there is still the issue of perceived competition and that is why we don’t always work together. Groups such as the Construction Industry Council, G4C and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) try to bring all disciplines together. I still think it is very important that we have our own Institutes as we are all specialists in our own fields, but should collaborate and share knowledge on topics as required.

[edit] How did you first discover Designing Buildings?

I first came across Designing Buildings when at university. I think your goal is fantastic “to put all construction industry knowledge in one place, available to everyone for free.” When I was looking for articles to include from other sources, it was amazing how many websites wanted you to sign up or pay to gain access to the full articles. Since Designing Buildings reached out I have signed up to the biweekly newsletters and read them when they arrive in my inbox! They always have a broad range of topics to pick from.

[edit] Would you like to nominate someone for the guest editor slot?

I would like to nominate my colleague at FaulknerBrowns Architects, Laura McClorey. Laura is an Architect and PhD candidate at Northumbria University. Her PhD research centres on the design and implementation of methods to actively encourage and deliver youth engagement within the consultation, design and construction phases of building projects and a means to measure the outcomes of this engagement following project completion. Together with myself, Laura leads on FaulknerBrowns' engagement with young people through the creation and implementation of engagement programmes with schools local to live projects. Laura is passionate about delivering social value through her project and research work and was also a founding member of FaulknerBrowns’ Corporate Social Responsibility Working Group.

Laura recently qualified as an architect having undertaken a Degree Apprenticeship at FaulknerBrowns and Northumbria University. During her apprenticeship she won several high-profile awards including the Royal Institute of British Architects North-East Student Award for Best Project in the region, the Northumbria Award for Highest Achievement on the Architecture Masters programme and she was nominated for the prestigious RIBA President’s Medal. Laura is an ambassador of the apprenticeship route and actively mentors junior apprentices within FaulknerBrowns and Northumbria University. The accumulation of her professional and academic work resulted in Laura being named the Constructing Excellence “Technical Apprentice of the Year” in 2022 and her experience was also used as a case study by the Prime Minister during National Apprenticeship Week 2023.