After three fantastic years in New York I am planning on moving to London for 6-7 months before going back to grad school here in the U.S. in fall 2005. My question to everyone here is, do you know of any good London firms? I know a few, but not that many, and not that much about the smaller, better ones I may be interested in. Any advice/info will be greatly appreciated.
if you need a visa, good luck. dont think anyone will bother to sponsor you for that short of time unless you have graduated from undergrand in the last 12 months then you can get a practical training visa for that little bit. would suggest either get a gig in a ny/lond firm like kps who is busy that can keep you hired/paid in the us while u are on a long business trip, or find yourself a little sharon to get married to quickly or get yourself a under the table deal, most likely at a solo shop being paid sausage chips and beans.
really, do you not think with some 40 arch schools on that little island barely the size of wisconson they have hundreds of cheap hands waiting in the que looking for short term gigs...... and they know metric,.... and the know british building practices..... and they speak british which by the way has no relationship to american. but the lager is great and the footsi also. i would look for a job under the table in a pub to have some fun for a few months and screw the arch bit. you wont get/give anything of meaning in that short time.
but then again, fosters is always hiring .... i think for the 3rd shift in the sweat shop basement i mean studio.
i worked in London for more than 2 years. (2001-03) Dont let people scare you with visas, just make sure you ask and communbicate from afar before setting off there, though you can be there for three months on tourist visa while you are interviewing.
some offices to look up:
david adjaye
panter hudspith
allies & morrison
houlton taylor
51%
allford hall monaghan morris
eric parry
caruso st. john
i say go for it. i got distinctly more direct responsibility and hands-on experience on projects over there than i would ever gotten on projects in hyper-assembly lined american firms. plus you can 'weekend in paris.' word.
Please do yourself a favour and look up John McAslan (details on the internet), he's a wicked architect I worked for for about a month as a bit of experience during a break in uni. He's got about a sixty strong firm, wins shiteloads of competitions and just seems to be getting better and better in my view. Don't want to try and describe his work to you in a few words, but look at his website - oh and the firm's looking to fill some positions at the moment. Actually we're kind of trading places, since I'm going to New York for 8 months on my placement year (English system's a bit different!). So if you have any suggestions of firms I could intern for I'd be much obliged. Oh, and McAslan and Partners is in the coolest part of Notting Hill......and have the sweetest office ever - just a few things to entice you!
herzog and the moron have a brand new spanking office in london, no one knows the address aside from the yellow pages. check yell.co.uk
ash sakula
urban future organization
future system
FOA (who just "enlarged their size" and are probably hiring, but dont expect to get paid)
caruso st john
rick mather
i could go on forever...what kind of stuff are you into? advanced? minimal? blobs? hightech? po-mo?
Richard, I am into simpler things, smaller scale, but finely crafted. Things that feel made by hand as opposed to a machine. Also have a great interest in landscape. Thank you for you list, I will look into all of them.
Thank you everyone who has posted thus far, keep them coming.
if you're interested in landscape, listen to one of Richard Ceccanti's suggestions - Future Systems. They're very cool but are also very into technology, etc. See what you think.......
finely crafted...pawson, chipperfield, adjaye, mather. basically the minimalist/crafted/natural materials architects. they get good tables at st john's.
Richard I don't know if you have seen in real life the work of some of the "minimalists" that you mention. The craft is pretty poor. Lots of peeling surfaces, Loads of silicone to put things together, simply bad detailing. The kind os stuff that you never see in a magazine of course.
For Finely crafted I would second Scarpa's suggestion.
Future System know what they are doing, at least it looks like somebody drew the thing before. They also have some pretty embarrasing 'jewels' like the slipery floor in the entrance of a shop in Oxford Street, but at least they do so because they take risks experimenting.
One last thing construction in the UK is pretty crap, I am talking about the general construction culture, so dont really expect too much finesse in the craft here. Remember the struggle of H&dM at the Tate.
Ludwig....bit harsh! I know our build quality here is pretty crap, but with the climatic conditions we have to put up with it's hardly suprising. Even peeling paint inside can be as a result of horrible fluctuating humidity and temps. Anyhow, Chipperfield really is quality - check out the craftwork at the Henley Boating Museum, and I've even been there! But in general I have to agree....we suck!
no, i've actually seen very few of the above mentioned architects' work, i despise minimalism almost more than blobictecture.
yet the general impression you get from the magazines is that they are the ones who have the great detailing, the shadow gaps and the portland stone floors...
silvestrin?
true about the crap construction in the uk, but hey, dont spoil it for the guy before he comes here! we've got cheap baked beans and the women are easy! come!
'oh, and by the way, London is good for you, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.'
yes, yes, London is amazing. It's any wonder that I can survive at all in my dingy backwater with nothing but Londoners cast offs to build. BOLLOCKS. And so is London and so is the bullshit that people talk.
To stereotype correctly - Americans and Londoners will get on famously. They both think the sun shines out of their arse and they both have the tenacity to spout they fair share of bull.
My advice is to stay in London. Don’t travel any ware else. We don’t want to meet.
HAHAHAHA,!!!
ok I was in a bad mood, I can also say that in the UK we have a lot of pragmatism which is a good thing.
Also about McAslan, I just recently learnt that 2 of my friends (they dont know each other) started working in that practice within that last 15 days. One even came from USA to try his luck. Maybe there are some more chances available in that office.
see, people in the north hate people from the south, look at BOTS...:)it rains a full 15 days a year more in birmingham, and people get pissed off easily. move to OZ dude!
Actually the addresses of all of the offices mentioned in this thread and many many more can be found easily in the net, check here for example: http://www.arplus.com/directory/arch.htm
i think you guys are all blowing wha hoo if you think any of the firms listed here will hire you under the table for 6 months without a visa or will try to get you a visa for that amount of time. oh yeah, i could see both bdp and hok hiring you.
there are firms out there, just like the us, but the are generally smaller no-names or profs working at unis tapping into some of their students. someone who will hire you under the table most likely isnt a full time practice or doing a quick charette for a comp or such.
home office rules as of feb 1 changed alot in the uk and they have really put on the squeeze.
Richard Ceccanti – Are you saying I hate Londoners because it rains less in London?
I thought it was because the streets are paved with gold and I'm jealous because I have to ride a sheep through a bog for 5 hours before I get to my office entrance located in a coal mine heritage museum.
Often I ponder the aspiration of moving to London village while drafting on my slate with a piece of half burnt coal - what it would be like to mix with the hoi polloi.
man, chill!
it does rain more there than year (last time i looked it was an average of 200 days per year in london to 220 in north wales, and i lived in the midlands, more or less the same weather)
i'm not saying you are jealous, just that...wtf...if you're a 20 something archistudent, where would you rather be? in the most cosmopolitan city in europe, or contemplating the countryside in wales?
i dunno why you hate londoners, if you cant handle the big city its not londoners' fault sir! i, for one, couldnt handle the coutryside, so iguess that makes you a stronger, bigger, better human being than me!
remember: agoraphobia can be cured!
baaaaay baaaaay
BD: thanks for the correction!i shall start begging for a job today, right in front of the office...
‘I’m not saying you are jealous, just that...wtf...if you're a 20 something archistudent, where would you rather be? In the most cosmopolitan city in Europe, or contemplating the countryside in Wales?’
Rich you tell me to chill then spout more stereotyping bull. Leave it for your London friends my good man.
You are Dick Whittington’s Cat? You are not my hero anymore.
Petey – Look at Building Design online or the RIBA journal / Architects Journal if you can get a hold of them. There is always a London bias to them so they are good resource for your query.
Of course the corporate behemoth I work for has an office in London and the stuff they do is OK. I’d rather remain anonymous at this stage so I won’t disclose, sorry.
BOTS: you're right dude, sorry. you cant deny your londonphobia is kinda stereotyped as well...
sorry to have disrupted your child fantasies about the cat, nowadays he would be a drug dealer from Bow driving a souped-up 318i.
truth is, i dont like this place that much either. aside from the fact that i have better chances of running into zaera-polo here than back home in bologna, there is not much else going for this place. i guess you could say london life sucks so much, surviving its a skill!
maybe its the incredible cheap rents that attract people to london...
by the way is it possible to find a part-time job in a good architecture office in London for only about two days a week, where you are actually allowed to do more than get coffee and send faxes?
I would like to thank everyone very much for all of their help on this topic. I have formed a pretty nice list of places I am interested in and have booked a ticket to do some interviewing in November.
My next question for you guys is about visas and work permits.
My understanding is that for only six months of work, I only need a work permit and not a visa. That work permit needs to be sponsored by the office I am working in and takes about 8 weeks to process before I can even go over there and start working. Does this sound right to everyone?
yes, americans dont needs visas BUT every foreigner needs a work permit (which your employer will apply for on your behalf) .. just make sure you mention at your interview that a work permit is needed (they will tel by your american accent, which you will carry with you everywhere).
Mason and I worked on that list he sent you. i was at allies and morrison architects, which i thoroughly enjoyed.
if you are working ... you only need a Work Permit.
but the office you work at will "sponsor" you to be in the country. (you cannot get a permit by yourself)
read more here
I looked at this government website, but I couldn't get exact information I wanted. From the info I got there I seem to need visa and work permit to live and work there in UK.
Does anyone know how long it usually takes to get visa and work permit there?
in the post 911 error, the rules change daily at the home office. you must find someone to sponsor you. last i entered in march although i am a pernament resident i was given some hassel as my new passport had the stamp transfered and i have to return to home office to reapply although i have been told different stories at the local consulate that transfered the stamp.
i know someone who did a practical training visa with foster, applied sept 2003 [had to stay out of the country during application] didnt get word to come over until march 2004 ; i understand it was not fosters problem but home office. the visa had come back a couple of times with wrong name and the likes.
and as your from a different country, us citizens will have different rules so we really cant talk with regard to your specifics . your best to search the internet for private uk agencies that do that full time and call and ask them about the specifics of your situation and your home nationality. they wont bite, really.
Is there good way to find the "private uk agencies"?
I just get so many links and it's too huge list to go through, if I simply go google.
Do you know some of specific ones?
Oct 4, 04 4:06 pm ·
·
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.
London Firms - Please recommend
After three fantastic years in New York I am planning on moving to London for 6-7 months before going back to grad school here in the U.S. in fall 2005. My question to everyone here is, do you know of any good London firms? I know a few, but not that many, and not that much about the smaller, better ones I may be interested in. Any advice/info will be greatly appreciated.
if you need a visa, good luck. dont think anyone will bother to sponsor you for that short of time unless you have graduated from undergrand in the last 12 months then you can get a practical training visa for that little bit. would suggest either get a gig in a ny/lond firm like kps who is busy that can keep you hired/paid in the us while u are on a long business trip, or find yourself a little sharon to get married to quickly or get yourself a under the table deal, most likely at a solo shop being paid sausage chips and beans.
really, do you not think with some 40 arch schools on that little island barely the size of wisconson they have hundreds of cheap hands waiting in the que looking for short term gigs...... and they know metric,.... and the know british building practices..... and they speak british which by the way has no relationship to american. but the lager is great and the footsi also. i would look for a job under the table in a pub to have some fun for a few months and screw the arch bit. you wont get/give anything of meaning in that short time.
but then again, fosters is always hiring .... i think for the 3rd shift in the sweat shop basement i mean studio.
i worked in London for more than 2 years. (2001-03) Dont let people scare you with visas, just make sure you ask and communbicate from afar before setting off there, though you can be there for three months on tourist visa while you are interviewing.
some offices to look up:
david adjaye
panter hudspith
allies & morrison
houlton taylor
51%
allford hall monaghan morris
eric parry
caruso st. john
i say go for it. i got distinctly more direct responsibility and hands-on experience on projects over there than i would ever gotten on projects in hyper-assembly lined american firms. plus you can 'weekend in paris.' word.
PeteyPablo, email me if you want to talk about it more .. i have a megalist that i used when looking for a job there.
Mason, I sent you an e-mail and would love to talk further about this.
Please do yourself a favour and look up John McAslan (details on the internet), he's a wicked architect I worked for for about a month as a bit of experience during a break in uni. He's got about a sixty strong firm, wins shiteloads of competitions and just seems to be getting better and better in my view. Don't want to try and describe his work to you in a few words, but look at his website - oh and the firm's looking to fill some positions at the moment. Actually we're kind of trading places, since I'm going to New York for 8 months on my placement year (English system's a bit different!). So if you have any suggestions of firms I could intern for I'd be much obliged. Oh, and McAslan and Partners is in the coolest part of Notting Hill......and have the sweetest office ever - just a few things to entice you!
herzog and the moron have a brand new spanking office in london, no one knows the address aside from the yellow pages. check yell.co.uk
ash sakula
urban future organization
future system
FOA (who just "enlarged their size" and are probably hiring, but dont expect to get paid)
caruso st john
rick mather
i could go on forever...what kind of stuff are you into? advanced? minimal? blobs? hightech? po-mo?
oh, and by the way, london is good for you, dont let anybody tell you otherwise.
ah, and dont tell them you are leaving after 6 months, they like to nurture people.
Richard, I am into simpler things, smaller scale, but finely crafted. Things that feel made by hand as opposed to a machine. Also have a great interest in landscape. Thank you for you list, I will look into all of them.
Thank you everyone who has posted thus far, keep them coming.
if you're interested in landscape, listen to one of Richard Ceccanti's suggestions - Future Systems. They're very cool but are also very into technology, etc. See what you think.......
finely crafted...pawson, chipperfield, adjaye, mather. basically the minimalist/crafted/natural materials architects. they get good tables at st john's.
Richard I don't know if you have seen in real life the work of some of the "minimalists" that you mention. The craft is pretty poor. Lots of peeling surfaces, Loads of silicone to put things together, simply bad detailing. The kind os stuff that you never see in a magazine of course.
For Finely crafted I would second Scarpa's suggestion.
Future System know what they are doing, at least it looks like somebody drew the thing before. They also have some pretty embarrasing 'jewels' like the slipery floor in the entrance of a shop in Oxford Street, but at least they do so because they take risks experimenting.
One last thing construction in the UK is pretty crap, I am talking about the general construction culture, so dont really expect too much finesse in the craft here. Remember the struggle of H&dM at the Tate.
Ludwig....bit harsh! I know our build quality here is pretty crap, but with the climatic conditions we have to put up with it's hardly suprising. Even peeling paint inside can be as a result of horrible fluctuating humidity and temps. Anyhow, Chipperfield really is quality - check out the craftwork at the Henley Boating Museum, and I've even been there! But in general I have to agree....we suck!
no, i've actually seen very few of the above mentioned architects' work, i despise minimalism almost more than blobictecture.
yet the general impression you get from the magazines is that they are the ones who have the great detailing, the shadow gaps and the portland stone floors...
silvestrin?
true about the crap construction in the uk, but hey, dont spoil it for the guy before he comes here! we've got cheap baked beans and the women are easy! come!
has anyone here worked at foster's office? if so, what were the studio and pay conditions?
'oh, and by the way, London is good for you, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.'
yes, yes, London is amazing. It's any wonder that I can survive at all in my dingy backwater with nothing but Londoners cast offs to build. BOLLOCKS. And so is London and so is the bullshit that people talk.
To stereotype correctly - Americans and Londoners will get on famously. They both think the sun shines out of their arse and they both have the tenacity to spout they fair share of bull.
My advice is to stay in London. Don’t travel any ware else. We don’t want to meet.
HAHAHAHA,!!!
ok I was in a bad mood, I can also say that in the UK we have a lot of pragmatism which is a good thing.
Also about McAslan, I just recently learnt that 2 of my friends (they dont know each other) started working in that practice within that last 15 days. One even came from USA to try his luck. Maybe there are some more chances available in that office.
see, people in the north hate people from the south, look at BOTS...:)it rains a full 15 days a year more in birmingham, and people get pissed off easily. move to OZ dude!
actually, even more rain in wales!
Study in Edinburgh, come from London.......they hate our guts up there, must be the rain!
Richard:
"herzog and the moron have a brand new spanking office in london"
They dont - well they have an office but its definitly brand new or spanking. If it was it wouldnt be an H&deM office.
PeteyPablo - you can email me if you want the address
i meant 'not' brand new
Actually the addresses of all of the offices mentioned in this thread and many many more can be found easily in the net, check here for example: http://www.arplus.com/directory/arch.htm
get a good job, then turn it over to me in seven months. you can be my guinnea pipg
bd...yeah, i meat they just opened it, not that they designed it. doh.
you can turn it to me, and you'll be my guinea pig, being a GUINNEA PIPG is too much work, trust me.
go commercial! earn loads of cash!if its just for 7 months...
BDP!
TP BENNET!
Richard - H&deM have actually had an office in London continuously since the Tate. It just hasn’t always had that many people in it.
If your after commercial try HOK and their office on oxford street.
i think you guys are all blowing wha hoo if you think any of the firms listed here will hire you under the table for 6 months without a visa or will try to get you a visa for that amount of time. oh yeah, i could see both bdp and hok hiring you.
there are firms out there, just like the us, but the are generally smaller no-names or profs working at unis tapping into some of their students. someone who will hire you under the table most likely isnt a full time practice or doing a quick charette for a comp or such.
home office rules as of feb 1 changed alot in the uk and they have really put on the squeeze.
Richard Ceccanti – Are you saying I hate Londoners because it rains less in London?
I thought it was because the streets are paved with gold and I'm jealous because I have to ride a sheep through a bog for 5 hours before I get to my office entrance located in a coal mine heritage museum.
Often I ponder the aspiration of moving to London village while drafting on my slate with a piece of half burnt coal - what it would be like to mix with the hoi polloi.
PS. Dick Whittington’s cat is my hero!
man, chill!
it does rain more there than year (last time i looked it was an average of 200 days per year in london to 220 in north wales, and i lived in the midlands, more or less the same weather)
i'm not saying you are jealous, just that...wtf...if you're a 20 something archistudent, where would you rather be? in the most cosmopolitan city in europe, or contemplating the countryside in wales?
i dunno why you hate londoners, if you cant handle the big city its not londoners' fault sir! i, for one, couldnt handle the coutryside, so iguess that makes you a stronger, bigger, better human being than me!
remember: agoraphobia can be cured!
baaaaay baaaaay
BD: thanks for the correction!i shall start begging for a job today, right in front of the office...
oh, and i am Dick Whittington’s cat...
‘I’m not saying you are jealous, just that...wtf...if you're a 20 something archistudent, where would you rather be? In the most cosmopolitan city in Europe, or contemplating the countryside in Wales?’
Rich you tell me to chill then spout more stereotyping bull. Leave it for your London friends my good man.
You are Dick Whittington’s Cat? You are not my hero anymore.
Petey – Look at Building Design online or the RIBA journal / Architects Journal if you can get a hold of them. There is always a London bias to them so they are good resource for your query.
Of course the corporate behemoth I work for has an office in London and the stuff they do is OK. I’d rather remain anonymous at this stage so I won’t disclose, sorry.
BOTS: you're right dude, sorry. you cant deny your londonphobia is kinda stereotyped as well...
sorry to have disrupted your child fantasies about the cat, nowadays he would be a drug dealer from Bow driving a souped-up 318i.
truth is, i dont like this place that much either. aside from the fact that i have better chances of running into zaera-polo here than back home in bologna, there is not much else going for this place. i guess you could say london life sucks so much, surviving its a skill!
Rich - it's a life experience. The Welsh refer to it as a tour of duty. A bit like Nam!!
maybe its the incredible cheap rents that attract people to london...
by the way is it possible to find a part-time job in a good architecture office in London for only about two days a week, where you are actually allowed to do more than get coffee and send faxes?
no.
I would like to thank everyone very much for all of their help on this topic. I have formed a pretty nice list of places I am interested in and have booked a ticket to do some interviewing in November.
My next question for you guys is about visas and work permits.
My understanding is that for only six months of work, I only need a work permit and not a visa. That work permit needs to be sponsored by the office I am working in and takes about 8 weeks to process before I can even go over there and start working. Does this sound right to everyone?
yes, americans dont needs visas BUT every foreigner needs a work permit (which your employer will apply for on your behalf) .. just make sure you mention at your interview that a work permit is needed (they will tel by your american accent, which you will carry with you everywhere).
Mason and I worked on that list he sent you. i was at allies and morrison architects, which i thoroughly enjoyed.
Lola,
Did you work with Jenny Lovell at all in your time there?
Allies and Morrison looks quite good.
Thank you so much for that list, it was an amazing help. Some really interesting, solid firms......
Hello, I'm another one who's interested in working in London.
How are "visa" and "work permit" different? I'm now working in NY, but not US citizen.
A visa is permission to be in the country, a work permit is permission to work in the country.
both are visas
if you are working ... you only need a Work Permit.
but the office you work at will "sponsor" you to be in the country. (you cannot get a permit by yourself)
read more here
I looked at this government website, but I couldn't get exact information I wanted. From the info I got there I seem to need visa and work permit to live and work there in UK.
Does anyone know how long it usually takes to get visa and work permit there?
in the post 911 error, the rules change daily at the home office. you must find someone to sponsor you. last i entered in march although i am a pernament resident i was given some hassel as my new passport had the stamp transfered and i have to return to home office to reapply although i have been told different stories at the local consulate that transfered the stamp.
i know someone who did a practical training visa with foster, applied sept 2003 [had to stay out of the country during application] didnt get word to come over until march 2004 ; i understand it was not fosters problem but home office. the visa had come back a couple of times with wrong name and the likes.
and as your from a different country, us citizens will have different rules so we really cant talk with regard to your specifics . your best to search the internet for private uk agencies that do that full time and call and ask them about the specifics of your situation and your home nationality. they wont bite, really.
Thank you TED,
Is there good way to find the "private uk agencies"?
I just get so many links and it's too huge list to go through, if I simply go google.
Do you know some of specific ones?
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.