Bespoke Careers Podcast

Bespoke Careers

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DESIGN
UPDATED BIWEEKLY

The Bespoke Careers Podcast brings you the career stories and insights from the people shaping architecture and design today. Tune in every two weeks for fresh conversations with designers, architects, and creatives from around the world, sharing insights, experiences, and the realities behind their professional journeys.

FEB 10

The Truth About Becoming An Architect - Lucy Carmichael

Lucy Carmichael, former Director of Practice at the RIBA and current Board Member for the University of the Built Environment, explains why the traditional, linear path into the industry is failing most students, and what the alternative looks like. From her upbringing with architect parents, to navigating the "heyday" of design policy at CABE, Lucy has spent her life 'falling in and out of love with architecture.' The thing that keeps her coming back is the huge potential for positive impact on society. We explore the "radical realism" of the London School of Architecture, the looming impact of AI on graduate roles, and why the most impactful architectural careers are often the ones that look the least traditional. 00:00 Intro 00:56 Route into architecture 5:48 The reality check: first jobs in architecture 8:10 Stepping out of practice 9:38 The CABE movement 14:17 Communication and storytelling in architecture 18:41 Director of Practice at the RIBA 27:10 The profession's lack of engagement with the RIBA 33:08 The school that works differently (joining the LSA) 35:25 "Radical Realism" - the LSA ethos 47:04 AI and the future of the education and the profession 55:18 Has her career turned out how she imagined? 57:54 Career advice for the next generation

1h 1m
JAN 27

How an 'Un-Hireable' Architecture Grad Built a World Famous Practice - Kathryn Gustafson

Founder of Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Kathryn Gustafson reflects starting a studio in a second language, and learning the business side of practice through trial, mentors, and persistence. 00:00 Intro 0:59 Growing up in the desert 2:35 Discovering design 6:33 Journey from fashion to landscape architecture 12:04 Business vs Art 16:31 Founding her businesses and 'the invisible years.' 25:47 How to be a good leader 28:39 Building a workplace culture 29:21 Key projects and dealing with criticism 35:52 Navigating cultural contexts as a designer 38:59 Key skills designers need 41:05 Working with other designers: "Architects think they can do everything" 43:31 The changing nature of landscapes 47:58 Legacy 49:36 The next generation of designers

55 min
JAN 12

"Architecture School Doesn't Prepare You For This!" How We Scaled BIG Globally - Kai-Uwe Bergmann

Kai-Uwe Bergmann is a Partner at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), where he leads global business development and oversees urban design and landscape projects. Known for his strategic approach to "the political scale," Bergmann has been instrumental in scaling BIG from a Copenhagen-founded practice into a global force operating in over 40 countries. He is a primary contributor to Manhattan’s "Big U," a 10-mile coastal resiliency project designed to protect the city from future climate events. BIG, often described as "pragmatic utopian," focuses on transforming complex societal challenges (from energy and food distribution to affordable housing) into opportunities for design innovation. Bergmann’s personal journey, spanning from a German upbringing to an apprenticeship in glassmaking and stone masonry, informs his belief that architecture is a "limitless" field that requires the investigative skills of a detective and the foresight of a strategist. 0:00 Intro 1:09 Why architecture? 7:57 Glass-blowing, apprenticeships, and the value of experiences 13:21 Meeting Bjarke: A 20-year collaboration 17:43 Designing beyond election cycles 20:51 BIG's stratospheric rise 32:51 What architecture school doesn't teach you 36:52 What should architects be doing more of? 42:28 Scaling BIG and navigating the global scale 47:48 Balancing work-life and family life 49:48 The importance of architecture and the role of the architect 51:24 Architecture as a hopeful act

57 min
JAN 2

Why Architects Are Losing Their Influence (And How to Regain It) – Chris Williamson

On 1 January 2026, Chris Williamson took a deliberate and provocative step. He allowed his registration with the Architects Registration Board to lapse, describing the framework as 'absurd'. In practical terms, the sitting President of the RIBA, a practitioner with more than forty years’ experience and the founder of one of the UK’s most successful practices, can no longer legally call himself an architect. "Since I was 18 it's all I've ever wanted to do. But to be asked to pay an annual fee (which is increasing each year) to the ARB for the title - when the function isn't regulated seems madness." This conversation was filmed in the weeks leading up to that announcement. It captures Chris at a moment of conviction, before he went public with a decision that challenges how the UK regulates the built environment. As a working class kid, Chris was told architecture wasn’t for "the likes of him." Decades later, as RIBA President and co-founder of Weston Williamson + Partners, he's reshaped global cities through transport and infrastructure. If you are interested in how architecture survives the collision of technological shift, class barriers, commercial pressure, and declining influence - this is for you. 0:00 Intro 1:28 Chris' route into architecture 4:55 Class and the barrier to professional entry 6:37 Founding ⁨@wwparchitects⁩ 12:27 Why architects are losing influence 14:31 Specialisim vs generalism 19:14 In defence of competitions 22:38 Partnerships, pressure and asking for help 27:08 AI: can anyone be an architect now? 30:19 Handing over WW+P to the next generation 32:58 What do you want you legacy to be? 36:56 How to fix architecture's influence problem 41:10 What Chris is doing as RIBA President 45:08 Why young architects aren't joining the RIBA 49:17 Protection of function vs title 52:21 What success as RIBA President looks like

54 min
12/16/2025

Why Your First 5 Years as an Architect Will Make or Break You - Simon Allford

Simon Allford is never short of a view, and this conversation covers the parts of architecture people usually avoid.AHMM was founded in 1989 at possibly the worst moment in modern British architecture. Gold cards maxed out to cover office debt, competitions won but never built, consultancy work drying up. Those five years of survival shaped everything that followed. The rule from their student days still holds: the best idea wins, not yours or mine. If everyone's comfortable with a design, it's probably not good enough. His infamous "first we storm the building, then we take back the asylum" quote came from genuine frustration with an RIBA he felt had lost its purpose. Architecture, not architects. The internal politics proved harder than expected: some figures were "sinisterly unpleasant," but the House of Architecture concept survived. The collection is returning from storage, Portland Place is opening up, and he's still chairing fundraising for the Museum of Architecture. AHMM now has seven new executive directors and a global team of 400+. Growth was never the goal, they used to joke about never exceeding thirty people, but scale found them anyway. If you want an honest take on what architecture is really like from the inside, and how to survive those (sometimes) brutal early years - this is a great place to start. 00:00 Intro 01:28 Becoming an architect 05:30 Founding AHMM 11:09 The first five brutal years 18:37 The success of AHMM 26:07 The RIBA presidency and 'that' quote 28:47 The House of Architecture and the role of the RIBA 32:29 The value of architecture and public engagement 42:12 Succession planning at AHMM 46:40 Mentorship and the next generation of architects 50:30 AI, critical thinking and the future of architecture 56:51 Following in his father's footsteps (and his daughters in his)

1 hr
12/02/2025

Why I Quit My Job in New York to Start My Own Studio - Alyssa Anselmo

When Alyssa Anselmo quit her New York design job to build a daycare in Canada with next to no experience, everyone said she was crazy. Since then, she's delivered multiple award-winning projects, amassed a social media empire of 1M+ followers and built a studio that lets her choose work entirely on her own terms. Safe to say she made the right decision. Alyssa breaks down the decisions, the risks, and what she's learned about taste, money and attention. Her message is this: You don't need permission. You don't need a decade of experience. You need conviction, a willingness to be uncomfortable, and the courage to back your ideas even when nobody else does. 00:00 Intro 01:20 Why architecture and design made sense 08:46 What Italy, Canada and the US taught her about design 17:17 Walking away from commercial practice to start her own studio 22:02 How the Bambini daycare project began with her mum 28:31 Taking on a 1,000 square metre childcare centre solo 30:24 Rethinking daycare interiors for light, calm and curiosity 35:07 What she wants to design next 37:04 How TikTok and Studio Anva’s online presence started 43:04 Turning a rented flat into a content engine 45:11 Good design on a tight budget with Facebook Marketplace and IKEA 47:47 Money, taste and why some rich homes still feel flat 53:04 Why good design should scare you a little 54:09 Lessons for designers who want to grow on social media 1:00:25 Advice for young architects and designers backing their ideas 1:07:27 Her slow, human response to AI in design 1:13:29 Has her career gone to plan or not at all

1h 18m
11/18/2025

The Secret to Building a Successful Design Business - Design By Them

Sarah Gibson & Nicholas Karlovasitis leave uni, cram a fledgling furniture brand into a Newtown flat, and decide they are going to export Australian design to the world. That is the starting point for DesignByThem. In this episode we unpack how fifteen years later, they're actually pulling it off. We talk about building a design brand from a tiny local market, backing Australian designers, and choosing factories around the world without losing the integrity of the work. The conversation gets into IP, copies, pricing, cashflow, and why treating business as a design problem changed everything for them.If you care about turning design from a side project into a viable brand, this one is worth your time. 0:00 Intro 1:22 Why design still hooks them after all these years 3:00 Chasing ideas that make beautiful things accessible 4:08 Childhood Lego, pulling things apart and thinking like designers 5:11 Sarah’s path from obsessive floor plans to industrial design 6:10 Education, UTS and putting Australian industrial design on the map 7:34 Spotting the gap and founding DesignByThem as a collective 9:39 Building a platform for Australian designers not just a personal studio 11:02 Royalties, collaboration and why the best invoices go to other designers 13:08 Designers as business people and treating business like a design problem 15:09 Systems and spreadsheets 16:29 How they find designers and why so many wait to be discovered 19:29 Social media, saturation and why direct outreach still wins 21:35 Young designers, polish, missing knowledge and the AI trap 22:56 Why outsourcing the concept is a mistake and IP is everything 24:16 Using AI for the boring bits so more time goes into design 24:23 Sustainability, materials and designing for the full life cycle 27:15 Greenwashing, regulation and how far Australia needs to go 33:20 Working with architects and interiors and learning from clients 34:50 Feedback loops, data and using colour and custom work smartly 39:21 Australian craft as limitation and why they went global with manufacturing 41:42 Balancing local pride, accessibly priced products and global factories 43:52 Turning furniture design from a second job into a real career 45:03 Educating the public and putting the designer behind the product 50:03 How products, brands and spaces work together in the real world 53:12 Their Smart Design Studio workspace and why the setting matters 55:33 What they have learned, what they would change and why they still love coming to work

59 min
11/04/2025

Will AI Replace Architects? - Rada Daleva, Studio Tim Fu

A few times in a generation, a piece of technology comes along that changes everything. The internet, smart phones, or if you're an architect, CAD and BIM. Now, we have AI to add to that list. But can our profession embrace this, move forward, or even absorb another push for efficiency without hollowing out our expertise or having to question our real value now or in the future?We wanted to find out the answers to these questions and more. So we spoke to Rada Daleva, project lead at Studio Tim Fu, the leading AI-first architecture firm working with real clients on real projects and making real money.This studio is at the vanguard of what our future could look like, and that debut, commissioned at Lake Bled in Slovenia, is billed as the first fully AI driven architecture project.00:00 Intro01:25 Is AI coming for my job?02:37 What are the tangible use cases for AI right now?06:34 Rada’s path to Studio Tim Fu11:01 Using AI across the business11:54 Lake Bled: World's first fully AI driven architecture project15:06 Human touch, local context and training models19:14 Why later stages are harder for AI21:45 Does AI steal the fun part of design?24:17 How AI could shift architectural value26:55 What to do if you just started a design practice31:13 Should students be learning AI at University?34:57 Using AI as a marketing strategy38:49 Do clients actually want AI?39:45 Navigating the AI divide43:03 Will AI fundamentally change design forever?47:07 What do you say to the haters?48:15 How do we define our value in this new era of design?50:03 How will the industry evolve in the next five years?

54 min

5

out of 5

2 Ratings

The Bespoke Careers Podcast brings you the career stories and insights from the people shaping architecture and design today. Tune in every two weeks for fresh conversations with designers, architects, and creatives from around the world, sharing insights, experiences, and the realities behind their professional journeys.

Creator

Bespoke Careers
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

22
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Bespoke Careers
Show Website

Bespoke Careers Podcast