“Clients can make you see what you’re doing in a new light, which is really helpful.”
“I started at ARM as a student and then a graduate back when it was a smaller firm of 15 or 20 people. It was a nine-year apprenticeship and I got to work on good projects like the National Museum of Australia, Melbourne Central and the MTC Southbank Theatre. Then I left for seven years and went to work in a smaller office where I had more responsibility. One reason I came back to ARM was that there are more senior people here. ARM has such a breadth of experience and knowledge from the top to learn and draw from.
I’m a good all-rounder. I flit between the roles of running projects and managing clients and designing. My personality is calm and reserved, which helps me see my way through all sorts of issues and keep a cool head.
With design, you’re always learning, looking, seeing what’s out there, what’s been done before, what’s new. And you also learn on the job from good people who’ve been around a long time. I’ve always worked in firms where design is the primary focus. At ARM, the realities of fees and things won’t stop us from doing whatever it takes to get the right design.
I enjoy working closely with clients, taking them through the process and the journey of a project. For some, the process is completely new, which is refreshing because it means I see the project through their eyes. Clients can make you see what you’re doing in a new light, which is really helpful.
I’ve got a good eye and I do a lot of imagery and rendering and design. I’ve got the ability to understand the firm’s culture and capture that in models or renders or imagery in a way that suits each project and each client.”