An Interview with Colin Briggs
This year we are featuring blogs about our people and giving them a platform to share their stories.
We spotlight Associate Director in our Leeds office – Colin Briggs in our new ‘Inspire Interview’ feature, where we hear from our team – what their professional journey has been like so far and their advice and inspirations.
Tells us about your career journey to date
I studied at Leeds Metropolitan University (now Leeds Beckett) for all my RIBA Stages 1 – 3. I did my Part I placement at Acanthus WSM where I first met Craig Mewse. Part II was at a family-run business in York before I did a stint in Australia. It was the era of the credit crunch and I wanted to progress, so I thought “be bold” and at least I’d have a good excuse on my CV if it didn’t work out!
After that, I worked on a contract basis for a few months, before joining Bowman Riley where I’m approaching my 10-year anniversary (since joining as a contract member of staff!).
What’s your favourite thing about Bowman Riley?
My favourite thing is the trust that my colleagues place in me, my work and my decisions. I’ve never felt it like this somewhere else before and the impact is that I feel that I can in turn trust those I work with too.
What was your first job?
I used my piano-playing skills to play hymns at a local church on a Wednesday evening and worked in the towel department at John Lewis on Sundays. I’m an expert when it comes to towel loop lengths and cotton thread counts!
What attracted you to a career in the built environment?
I wanted to be a car designer, but my Grandad told me there were no jobs in automotive design (despite my younger brother now working as an engineer at Bentley!). I kind of fell in to architecture really. It was one of a long list of possible careers and the UCAS handbook (paper copy) was in alphabetical order. I didn’t get far into the book before being swept along!
What’s been your career highlight to date?
I’m really proud of the work we all did at Grantley Hall. It was really tough at the time, long meetings, tight deadlines and constant changes. But it’s not only a beautiful building, it’s won loads of awards for the people that work there. It has a brilliant training academy and will have impacted the lives of so many local people, alongside bringing some of the wealthiest people into our region.
What piece of advice would you give someone entering the industry?
There are so many professions within the built environment and don’t default to ‘architect’ without exploring what your natural talents and interests are. Think ahead and what the future might be and how you could adapt your skills when the world evolves.
What’s your claim to fame?
I’ve previously mentioned my Guinness World Record, so something different would be that I once got a Blue Peter badge for designing a pencil case in the shape of an Egyptian Mummy.
Tells us something people might not know about you
I used to be able to read Egyptian hieroglyphics (but don’t ask me now – I’ve totally forgotten them all!).