KEN SMITH is a senior architect with Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams, one of the largest practices in the north of England.
The practice expanded into Liverpool earlier this year. Ken was born in Liverpool but spent many years away from the city. Now back in his home town, he gives us an insight into a typical day.
7-8am: After breakfast, I leave home in Woolton for the car ride to the city centre. I was born in Aigburth, and moved to Bootle as a child, but spent many years away from the city. I’m so pleased I returned here and love living and working in Liverpool. I used to ride my BMW 1200GS to work with my wife riding pillion, but council regulations in Liverpool regarding free motorbike parking changed last year, which make using the car easier now.
8.30am: I make a cup of tea and settle down to read my emails and schedule, by the time I finish my second cup I’m ready for the day ahead. Today I’m meeting with planners over a commission we have to dismantle and rebuild two listed buildings. One is an 18th-century farmhouse and another a 1650s timber-framed barn. Though I love my job, it was never a calling, as such. I actually wanted to join the Hong Kong Police, as the exotic location seemed fascinating, but then a careers advisor put me on to architecture, so I ended up working in Birmingham instead.
9.30am: I pick up a pay-as-you-drive Whizzgo car on Old Hall Street, and drive the 45 minutes to the meeting. The meeting is fairly in-depth and involves planners, the conservation officer and building control inspectors, as you would expect with the sensitive nature of the project. Everyone is happy with our plans so the meeting ends on a really positive note.
12.30pm: I get back to Liverpool at lunchtime and take some clients of ours to lunch at a nearby hostelry. It’s a pretty informal affair and enjoyable. I have a chargrilled chicken sandwich, fries and a fresh orange juice. On days I don’t have a lunch appointment, I usually find myself in Boots picking up a meal deal.
1.30pm: Back at my desk, I write up the notes from the earlier meeting and a job the practice has just finished: the construction of a new sixth form college in Warrington.
3.30pm: I spend some time briefing and allocating work to my colleagues from the various projects we have in development. The practice has expertise in several areas, from ecclesiastical and education, through to leisure projects such as The Blue Planet aquarium, so there is a wide variety of work to keep us interested and at the top of our game.
4.30pm: I get some equipment ready for a quadrennial inspection I’m about to undertake at Wirral Magistrates Court. We look after all the listed courts in the north of England and, in addition to periodic inspections, we have to comment on any proposed changes that would impinge on the historic nature of the buildings. People often ask which my favourite building is, and, despite all the places I’ve been, I have to say St George’s Hall. During the six years I worked on it, I never tired of its scale and hidden complexity.
5pm: We are in the process of recruiting at the moment and it is a real challenge to get the right person on board. I’m looking for a recently-qualified architect, who is full of enthusiasm and ideas and can fit into our Liverpool- based team. Unfortunately, they are really thin on the ground as it takes seven years to qualify and the industry is now feeling the cutbacks made a decade ago at schools of architecture. Many young architects also choose to work in London, which is a shame as the ones that do travel north find fantastic opportunities for progression in the region.
6pm: Home, and a chance to continue booking this year’s holiday. My wife and I love travelling and in the past we have ridden around Switzerland on the motorbike. This year, we are literally going to go round the world, stopping at San Francisco, Auckland, Hong Kong and Singapore.
