Architect - Samir Pandya
Those of you who have a flair for design might be drawn to architecture.
Samir Pandya discovered architecture by chance while he was at school.
I was very lucky because I kind of stumbled into architecture by doing a course at GCSE level called ‘craft design and technology’ and within that there was an optional course which was ‘building design’. And it did spark an interest and I began to become very curious about architecture as a profession. And you know what went into making up an architect and what the role of an architect would be.
My education started at Dundee University, I did a degree there which was a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, and it’s a very technical course, and it was good it gave you a good foundation and I felt that it was really sort of providing me with a solid basis for understanding the kind of bricks and mortar approach to architecture.
After that degree I went into practice for a year which was a compulsory requirement of the course to get experience before you go into the 2nd part of the course which is the Diploma in Architecture.
Now for that I transferred from Dundee to Brighton because it was more about developing yourself as an architect. What kind of language of architecture you’d like to use and being more creative it was more about creativity.
I think that the range of work is sort of unlimited you know you can go and work for a practice that is involved in housing, or you can go and work for a practice that is involved in education, commercial buildings, public buildings. So the scope is vast in terms of your own personal choice and what you are interested in.
One of the longest projects that I have worked on is a project called the ‘Tidworth housing project’ which is for the Ministry of Defence, and is for providing houses and homes for soldier’s families.
One of the biggest things about this project was to create a sense of community and a sense of belonging for the residents. Not only through the language of the buildings themselves in terms of traditional features such as canopies, the types of bricks we use and the general feel that they give. But also in the way the buildings are placed on site, so you arrange for example in clusters, to create courtyards, to create a sense of a central focus And I think actually it has worked and we have had a lot of positive feedback from the residents and they are happy in their homes.
With the old grey houses you sort of stuck to yourself.
I’ve got neighbours that lived as neighbours in the old houses but we never knew them. And they couldn’t believe that we actually all lived on each other’s doorsteps and we didn’t know them.
Just because of the layout of the houses and the atmosphere.
You are not afraid to go out the front and be seen in the front of your house.
For me the special thing about being an architect is beyond doubt the idea of having a voice and contributing to your society and the environment and shaping it in a way that make it richer for people and enriches people’s lives. I don’t really think of many other professions that do that so directly or make such a difference to people’s lives and for that for me is a great satisfaction. And I have no doubts at all about entering the education and subsequently entering the profession.