Meet the Hawkins\Brown apprentices!
This National Apprenticeship Week, we caught up with some of our apprentices, Harry, Anisa, Nana, and Esha.
For National Apprenticeship Week, we wanted to catch up with some of the Hawkins\Brown apprentices in both the design and support teams.
In this article, we chat to architectural apprentices Harry Wood and Nana Boffah, HR apprentice Esha Patel, and studio assistant Anisa Salam, who finished her business administration apprenticeship in 2022 and has been at Hawkins\Brown ever since.
Harry and Anisa in the Terracotta meeting room in Studio North
Harry Wood and Nana Boffah are both working towards their Level 7 Architectural Apprenticeships, having worked at Hawkins\Brown during their Part 1 studies.
“It’s a great alternative to the conventional route,” Harry told us. “I come into the office even on my study days, because I can get input from my colleagues – and I’m now using a Hawkins\Brown project as a case study for uni.”
“My favourite project so far is 28 St Vincent Street. In the early stages, it was a very small design team, so I was really involved in shaping the design and creating something that would become an iconic landmark.”
Harry works on sketches for an upcoming project
Nana spoke about the variety of projects he’s worked on, and why Hawkins\Brown’s multi-sector approach appealed to him. “I moved here from Ghana when I was 12, and was struck by the difference between the architecture. I was always looking up at buildings, wondering how they did that. By doing an apprenticeship, I’ve been exposed to all kinds of projects on different scales.”
“Working on the Elevate Quarter was great because it gave me good exposure to more technical design. Usually, students have to take a more conceptual approach, but because I’ve worked alongside my studies I could talk with the technical director and learn far more.”
Nana and Esha take a break in the Hut, our art installation-meets-meeting room in Studio London
Anisa Salam completed an apprenticeship in business administration in 2022 and stayed on with Hawkins\Brown as Studio Assistant for Studio North. “I’ve learned so much about architecture,” Anisa said, “but it’s the culture at Hawkins\Brown that matters the most to me. I get to help shape that.”
“When I left college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” said Esha Patel, an HR apprentice in the London studio. “I knew I liked to work with people, so an HR apprenticeship seemed like a good option where I could gain experience and learn on the job. I’m not suited to a classroom, so it’s definitely easier this way!”
