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Learn more about Andrew

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  From a very young age it was clear that I was a creative, my obsession as a child was lego, nature, gastronomy and I was constantly drawing, painting and making abstract architectonic sculptures. I struggled with the traditional generic core curriculum subjects such as; mathematics, science and languages and following high school I was encouraged to go on to study fine art, photography, and graphic design. It was after being diagnosed with dyslexia and realising that I had abnormally heightened spatial awareness, teamed with the support of my parents and the ambitious decade-long challenge ahead of me that really led me to pursue a career in architecture.
  
  As soon as I began my undergraduate architectural studies in 2004 I had a strong interest in and draw towards pedagogy, but as the majority of my tutors were solely academics with very little or no real industry experience, I first wanted to become fully qualified and experienced within the field of architecture internationally before I began mentoring future generations of designers & architects. I have now had over 20 (some may argue too many!) different professional roles in architecture studios internationally.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I teach the overarching subject of Architecture, which also amalgamates and feeds into Urban Design, Engineering (structural, mechanical and environmental), Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, as well as; Fine Art, Photography and Graphic Design (Layout, Typography, Branding, Identity). I have a particular focus on historical context, community, ecology, biophilia, (bio)materiality, craft, wellbeing, atmosphere and phenomenology, consistently striving to deliver authentic, timeless, environmentally conscious and socio-economically sustainable buildings. I have advanced skills and experience with physical scale modeling, architectonic computation and visualisation, chiefly BIM (Building Information Modelling) in (Rhino), Sketchup and Autodesk Revit.
  
  Over the past 5 years I have worked with students between the ages of 7 and 70. The bulk of my work is undergraduate bachelor and postgraduate masters degree 1-2-1 tutoring. Mentoring students through the design process of their highly bespoke projects, technical reports and research dissertations. I have expertise in the transition from academia to industry and the competitive world of work, consulting on the development of an intimate personalised brand identity, cv/resume and portfolio in support of the associated professional practice applications. Another speciality of mine is the academic admissions process through UCAS in the United Kingdom (as well as continental Europe and North America), developing a body of work, manifesto and academic portfolio to accompany prospective applications to schools of architecture internationally.
  
  I was always a very strong architecture student; the design process in academia came very natural to me. If I could have stayed in design school forever I would have done, so I find being a coauthor, involved with the holistic design process of my students incredibly satisfying. With speculative design projects, I particularly like to be around at the very beginning as the scheme is emerging; I specialise in contextual analysis, uncovering the site's rich layered history, developing unconventional conceptual generators, tectonics, programmatic strategies and essentially solving problems/providing solutions.
  
  Given that I have dyslexia, like many creatives, I am extremely visual-spatial (as opposed to linear-sequential), thus literary research, written essays, theoretical dissertations are the areas of academia where I have least interest.

• Do you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  My most inspiring tutor from architecture school was Saleem Al Mennan; he was my second-year tutor in 2005 and I am still in contact and often meet with him for architours almost two decades later. He instilled in me the drive to be the most authentic version of myself, pushing me far beyond my comfort zone with the aim to compete at a world level. A handful of my all time favourite architects include; Peter Zumthor, Rem Koolhaas, Kazuyo Sejima, John Pawson, Jaques Herzog and David Chipperfield. In the past ten years I have been privileged to work alongside Thomas Heatherwick, John Wardle, Ben Van Berkel, Shigeru Ban and Sir David Adjaye.
  
  However, it is now over a decade after graduating that I realise that the majority of my architectural knowledge has come from travelling all over the world and visiting many internationally renowned buildings. I mean, after all, if you want to be a good chef, you have to eat good food!
  
  I have now travelled to over 70 countries worldwide, each time with an overriding architectural agenda, where I directly experienced thousands of iconic historical and contemporary works or architecture. It is in these intimate 1:1 explorations with human scale, place, craft, detail and materiality where I found I have gained unique insight into what works, and perhaps more importantly, what doesn't.
  
  Dedicating time to the study and analysis of different contexts, physically experiencing the atmosphere of space and engaging with and learning from diverse societies, cultures and communities provides exposure to alternative vernacular tectonics and opens up new spatial perspectives.
  
  I have learnt from experience that there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from experiencing on-site construction, physically getting your my hands dirty and witnessing how buildings are put together at 1:1 scale.
  
  I believe that to be engaged with architecture is about so much more than working full time, locked up in an academic institution, or behind a computer in a single or handful of commercial practices, following the doctrine of a pretentious theoretical academic professor or the every subjective murmur of a sole starchitect or manager within a complex political hierarchy so synonymous with commercial practice. I believe there is a richness in diversity of experience and I hope to encourage and inspire confidence in others to do the same.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  First and foremost, for me, it is about experience. I have been deeply engaged with architecture for almost 20 years. I have also now worked as an architect in 5 different continents on hundreds of projects in a range of different contexts. I have diverse experience working on practically all building typologies as well as exposure to thousands of architects and international precedents which I am constantly referring to in my tutorials.
  
  Having studied at around 10, and visited over 100 architecture institutions internationally, I feel I have been through pretty much all the school of architecture can throw at you.
  
  I have personally aimed to develop a warm, friendly, approachable, patient and encouraging style of teaching, perhaps as a response to, and with the aim to become, a direct antithesis to the austere, pretentious, arrogant and intimidating egos that are so commonly encountered within the 'typical' school of architecture.
  
  Quite often my students come to me at a point of crisis, physical exhaustion and psychological disorientation, it is important to show respect, empathy and support not just to their academic education but also their mental health and wellbeing.
  
  I focus on serving my clients and students in what is essentially an energy exchange; digesting and analysing the issue and developing a bespoke strategy that provides tangible results. I offer clear and concise instructions and a list of actionable steps, continually clarifying if the advice has been fully understood.
  
  
  Over the years I have developed an objective, open-minded pluralistic view of architectural discourse, education and practice. It is this wider global perspective of architecture within the expanded field that helps me develop strategies that can be tailored to each individual's highly bespoke needs and requirements. Ensuring each individual can develop their own unique voice and become the author of their own personal architectural language.
  
  I am very much interested in developing an authentic connection with my students and bringing out the absolute best in them. I take great pride in instilling or reigniting passion for architecture and design with my students. Witnessing them transition from having a complete lack of interest, to a point where they slowly fall in love with architecture is incredibly fulfilling. It is important to instil ambition and confidence and retain optimism for the subject and the future of the industry.
  
  I believe in honesty, authenticity, integrity, upholding the moral ethics and values of the profession, I dedicate time and energy to prepare my students for the competitive 'dog eat dog' culture and sometimes brutal industry, giving them a thick skin and the confidence to dream big and think independently as an architect in contemporary society.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  My 3rd undergraduate year was by far the most challenging year of school for me, mainly because the pressure and demands were so unexpected! I was living in a house with 3 other architecture students at the time and we all ended up as the RIBA-nominated, highest first-class graded, out of the entire 100+ student body. But it did not come without blood, sweat, tears, and personal sacrifice. I worked 16 hours a day for the entire academic year (including Christmas Day), students were dropping out of the course left, right and centre; one of my roommates often stayed up for 3 days in a row wearing a hat with straws connected to a permanent supply of caffeinated red bull and another close friend went missing due to the acute pressure. It was a particularly stressful and challenging time, but on the flip side one of the most rewarding years of my life, an authentic unexpected crash course into the field of architecture, a reminder that competition can be healthy, that you should always push yourself out of your comfort zone and that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.
  
  In summer 2017 I took part in the inaugural 'Free School of Architecture' headed by Peter Zellner in Los Angeles, California. The progressive curriculum included classes and workshops on community, education, practice, context, homelessness, critical writing, antisocial media, the metaverse, architectural jargon, expressionist painting, AI, tailoring, architectonic gastronomy and the body in space. Perhaps most interestingly, the participating student body took over the entire program, like lord of the flies, evolving the program into something completely different, altruistically learning from each other, and without any finance, bureaucracy and domineering professors agendas, it ironically became my most rewarding academic experience to date.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or are still facing in your subject?

  I feel there has always been and still remains an expansive dichotomy between academia and the practice of architecture. I am therefore always mindful of bridging that gap between theoretical and conceptual utopic/dystopic visions (which can all too often be divorced from reality) and buildable, financially viable, functional pragmatism. I take a conscious step away from the institutional celebration of the individual lone starchitect and really promote the understanding that reality of architecture is about a wider communal team effort.
  
  It is an exciting and welcome challenge to actively stay current with the rapid advancements in architectural technology, materiality, sustainability, BIM (parametric) computation, AI and visualisation. Throughout architectural discourse there are many fashions that come and go, which it is important to be aware of, but I believe it is more important to strive for timelessness and to ensure that architectonic language is tailored to its context.
  
  A common recurring challenge with being a professor is often being expected to somehow know everything about everything, everywhere, all the time! Whereas in reality, you never reach a pinnacle within the field; we are all constantly learning and evolving.
  
  Another challenge I often face is related to expertise in technical construction detailing. In the United Kingdom it is more related to the specialist field of architectural technology. It is not something that I was formally educated in and not what any of my students seem to receive any support with when studying for an architecture degree, it seems we are just expected to know instinctively how to do it.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I consider myself a relatively multidimensional person. I'm often changing and evolving, discovering new hobbies and interests. However, if I were to choose three that I have had throughout my life they would be; Travel, Food and Architecture.
  
  Within architecture I focus on holistic sustainability; environment, ecology, permaculture, biomimicry, off-grid technologies, circularity, biomaterial innovation and participatory/inclusive design.
  
  However, I really have Superprof and my students to thank for making me realise that teaching is one of my true passions. It is so rewarding and I genuinely feel that I am positively impacting people's lives and direction. My students very often become my close friends and I am further driven by my long-term students attaining such remarkable results, 1st class or 2:1 degrees.
  
  I feel it is my moral obligation to nurture and unleash the creative energy we all possess, eventually empowering individuals with the tools and requisite skills to actualize their own personal vision and to arrive at solutions on their own, without the support of others.
  
  I practise a certain degree of tough love, as I believe that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. I ensure that I continually challenge, question, provoke and critique my students' work. I aim to push my students out of their comfort zone to positively motivate them to take on the task ahead. I give them a sense of responsibility and hold them accountable so that they become inspired to take action and realise their full potential.

• What makes you a Superprof?

  The Superprof platform has actually changed my life. Out of 10 different teaching websites I have used, it is by far my favourite. I have become incredibly fond of the community and I very often share the existence of the platform with peers and colleagues as a way for them to share their passions and empower future generations.
  
  Over the past 5 years Superprof has connected me to many students in need of support and mentoring, a diverse collection of individuals in an energy exchange that eventually connects us together as friends. Superprof has offered me true freedom and the time to develop my craft as a teacher and mentor.
  
  I believe the commitment and sacrifices I make to support my students is what sets me apart. I continually go out of my way to support my students. In some cases; I have met their parents, I have travelled to be with them to support their deadlines, physically build scale models or visit cities and key works of architecture together.
  
  I genuinely feel I am positively impacting my students and my heartwarming reviews and testimonials Illustrate the impact I have on my students' education, careers and lives as a whole. Perhaps most poignantly, some have even remarked that they learnt more from me than in their entire formal architecture education. It is this positive feedback and tangible results that motivate me to continue to develop my skills as a mentor.
  
  Over the past 5 years I have been exponentially dedicated more and more time to teaching over commercial practice. The experience has been so profound that I am starting to consider becoming a full-time tutor and I can even see myself continuing 1-2-1 mentoring with Superprof after I retire.