The journey to becoming an Architect is a long road that takes skill, tenacity and a deep understanding and interest in our built environment. So we are extremely proud that two of our Part Ones have now recently qualified with us. Melanie feels strongly about bringing young talent through and we support those entering the profession, guiding and offering practice experience.

Here Trixie and Andrew speak about how the experience has shaped their future.

Trixie Bedwei

My journey to becoming an Architect started out with my undergraduate degree at the University of Brighton, where it became apparent very quickly that a lot of people didn’t quite understand what they were in for, myself included! My three years at Brighton University taught me a lot (in architecture and in life), and by the time I left I knew that I wanted to complete parts 2 and 3 of my journey.

My first real role as an Architectural Assistant was at Clear. Working in Practice helped me grow my understanding of what ‘real-world’ architecture is, and after a year or so I was ready to tackle my Part 2 at Westminster Uni. My Masters at Westminster presented many opportunities such as going to Vietnam, which was wonderful, but then… Covid-19 hit. It was a challenging time but my Design Studio and tutors really encouraged one another through it and we reached the end celebrating so many great achievements. Clear was also supportive during this time through casual ‘check-ins’ and academic sponsorship on the Scheme of Excellence programme, and after graduating I was welcomed back as a Part 2 Architectural Assistant.

Now here I am, still at Clear after Part 3 qualification and still very much enjoying what the role and profession has to offer on a more personal scale.

Andrew Singer

Following my A levels and a gap year to grow up a bit, I embarked on the long journey of becoming an architect. I went to the University of Kent where I started to fall in love with the process of designing buildings. I joined a medium sized practice in the Barbican for a year designing supermarkets but quickly found this wasn’t for me, so I later joined Clear as a Part 1. I learnt a lot in that year, filling in a lot of the gaps that undergrad had left.

I escaped the South to do my Masters at the University of Manchester. I spent the 2 years making new friends, provoking tutors and furthering my understanding of what ‘Architecture’ is and what it can be. I joined Farrells where we had bi-weekly critiques with Sir Terry Farrell and worked on some large scale projects, both in architecture and master planning. I decided I wanted to go back to a smaller more human scale, so asked if could  come back to Clear where I’ve been for the last 3 years. Whilst being here, I’ve had a son and completed my Part 3… passing is a close second!