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ASK THE ARCHITECT
Gillian Burgis Smith details how she became an architect, overcoming some outdated industry mindsets and major health obstacles; and how she has positively harnessed her own experience to create inclusive environments for others
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BECOME AN ARCHITECT?
Gillian Burgis Smith
When I left school at 16 I didn’t know that architecture was an option; local government was considered a stable and secure job, and after working in Housing, Finance and Trading Standards I was moved to the Architects Department. I saw architectural trainees on drawing boards and knew that was my calling. Years later I found that my birth parents were in the architecture and design field. I love architecture, arts, culture and design and their impact on people, the environment and life experience. After being told “you can’t do that, you’re a woman,” I enrolled in an evening class for an ONC in Building Studies, which was enough to be an architectural technician. But to do a degree I was advised to do a foundation course at North London Poly and was admitted for a four year part- time BA (Hons) at Greenwich University. I did my Part 2 at a small private practice where I gained a lot of experience with materials and interiors. Greenwich was great, I was one of six day release students that went straight through from beginning to end together and we formed a strong bond. I recently discovered that I was one of only 3% of women that graduated in architecture from Greenwich University in 1994.
HOW DID SUFFERING TWO STROKES IMPACT YOUR CAREER?
Professionally it was profound; it woke me up to how lifestyle, health and happiness within my work environment were of paramount importance. It also helped direct me to concentrate more on individuals’ diverse needs, for example to focus on people who had a different sensory response to environments. I was suffering from aphasia and having trouble with my balance, vestibular sense and topographical disorientation. I was mainly working in corporate interiors and decided to conduct some research, as I was conscious that – for many architects and designers – design for people with visible and non-visible disabilities had mostly been a tick-box exercise. I began one-to-one research interviews with people diagnosed and/or identified as neurodivergent or neurodegenerative and working in creative fields, as I wanted to discover how they adapted their work processes during the pandemic and beyond, to help create a framework for continued creative effectiveness across remote and in person work environments.
One of the main takeaways was that while the way that we interact with our environment varies, there are some similar patterns, and we need to consider physical, sensory and cognitive factors.
For Neurodiversity Celebration Week, March 2024, Gillian contributed to an “inspiring evening” with The Senator Group and fellow panelists Dr Jane Freeman, Dawn Scott and Pippa Jameson
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF APRIL 2024
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