Carolyn Whiteford
Architect featured in Building Dream Homes
I grew up in Northern Ireland and throughout school wasn't really sure what I wanted to do later on.
My earliest interaction with architecture as a vocation was when we moved out to my Grandfather's farm when I was 10. My parents had the option of building a brand new house in one of the adjacent fields or renovating the rather dated farmhouse, the earliest part of which was 400 years old. My dad chose the latter option as he couldn't bring himself to demolish the old house. I still remember the architect's plans for our dream house and imagining what it would be like to live there. The ideas for the new house and also the experience of breathing new life into an old building stayed with me and led me to go on to study Architecture in Edinburgh.
The architecture course was challenging (and long!) but I got the opportunity to work for a firm in San Francisco, which was an amazing experience. Throughout my studies, my Uncle who ran a small building firm actively encouraged me to take a hands-on approach to building. He set up the opportunity for me to work with an electrician, a plumber and a roofer as part of my 'training'!
I first met when in my 2nd year at uni; I heard an architect's practice was selling off drawing boards for 拢10 each! We next came across each other when I approached various practices to do placements at the beginning of my 5th year. I showed him all my lovely hand-drawn drawings, but his main question was "Can you use a computer?" This placement (back in 2001) set the ball rolling and established our working relationship, so when Chris offered me a job when I graduated, how could I turn it down? It's been over 10 years now and we're still learning from one another.
