Since starting my job as a Part I Architectural Assistant at DLG I feel like time has flown by. It wasn’t only the start of my first ‘real’ job, but I had braved moving alone to London, all within weeks of leaving university. I hadn’t done any work experience at a practice beforehand so although I had spent 3 years studying architecture, I really didn’t know what to expect. Thankfully the popular stereotype of doing endless overtime and spending days only doing toilet plans are not true for me thus far!
Reflecting on my first few days, a lot of my time was spent familiarising myself with software programmes and generally learning how the office is run – which is a light-year away from the cardboard models and 3D renders I had spent so much time working on at architecture school. One aspect of the job that I didn’t expect to gain so much from is practice admin work, a few weeks in and I started learning more about the projects which were currently ongoing within the practice, as well as who was responsible for each one – and although I learnt this mostly through assisting with drawings and presentations, it was also through being able to talk on the phone, organise the database, and read through emails. I also found that doing work for the studio itself gives me a sense of teamwork and ownership. For instance, I was able to contribute towards our office move which happened shortly before Christmas. I was able to draw up the new layout as well as helping on the day of the move – one thing I’m sure not every Part I experiences on their placement year!
