Freddie joined our Gloucestershire studio in 2022 as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant. When picking his A-Levels, Freddie had begun to consider a career in Architecture, choosing Art, Physics and Maths. He chose to pursue this further and achieved his Bachelor’s in Architecture from the University of Brighton. It was then that he joined GSSArchitecture to begin his two years of training, mandatory to become a qualified Architect. After a year in the role, it was suggested that he enrol in the Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA Part 2) course at UWE Bristol.

Freddie is now a year and a half into his qualification, splitting his time across two days at university and three days in the office. Having experienced both a part-time and full-time course, Freddie reflected that his current way of working has implemented much more structure, encouraging him to be more organised and proactive with projects and deadlines. This has fed into the way he works at the office and allows time for feedback and support from his mentors.

Teamwork is a skill Freddie has identified as essential in his role. He has observed significant improvements in how he communicates and collaborates with others. This progress stems from having a strong team unit in Gloucester, where he has learnt to clearly communicate roles and responsibilities, as well as working with various stakeholders. Freddie has found this has helped him to excel in group projects at university – a vital skill, with Architecture being an inherently collaborative profession.

As one of his mentors, Freddie works closely with Josh Maddison, who volunteers with RIBA as both their Gloucestershire and Wessex chair. This has led to wider collaboration opportunities, with Freddie volunteering with RIBA to organise events and manage social media posts. Most recently he has organised a tour around Woodchester Mansion, which exhibits a pre-Victorian construction site, allowing him to engage with and network within the broader Architectural community.

Last year, as part of a group project at his University, Freddie developed a masterplan. He identified a culturally and historically significant site, now left unused, and proposing how their redevelopment strategy could integrate and benefit the existing built environment. Since then, Freddie has been guiding and mentoring younger students, helping them develop these plans for submission to The Davidson Prize, an esteemed annual design ideas competition.

Recently Freddie has worked on a conservation planning application for Sapperton C of E Primary School, producing stage 4 drawings. This has given him the opportunity to begin taking ownership over projects. Over the next few years, he aims to continue in this direction, with the plan being to complete his RIBA Part 3 and become a fully qualified architect.