Winner
Luke Siddle MCIAT
Words by Joe Davenport MCIAT, Chartered Architectural Technologist
Luke’s enthusiasm, commitment and discipline set him apart from the average Architectural Technologist. As well as the inveterate attention to detail of all dyed-in-the-wool ATs, his faultless professionalism and organisation skills make him a pleasure to work with and means his work is to an exceptional standard and always reliably punctual. Despite being handed significant responsibility for someone of his short career experience, Luke remains composed and continues to excel, pushing others to succeed and improving the standards of those he works with internally and externally. I firmly believe that with his skills, working ethos and his determination to achieve technical excellence.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Luke on a variety of projects and had the good fortune of monitoring his development and accomplishments here at P+HS. Having worked closely together over the past 3 years. Prior to Luke joining P+HS Architects he studied BSC (Hons) Architectural Technology at Leeds Beckett University from 2017-21 with a placement year in industry prior to his final year. Luke contacted us during his final year at LBU and had a very successful interview shortly after. During his interview he provided examples of the projects he had been involved in during his studies and his year out placement. There were a few things that really stood out to us as a company searching for young talent, first being Lukes’s eye for technical detailing, he shared with us some hand drawn, to scale drawings which not only showed his understanding/knowledge of construction but displayed a skill that in recent years has been lost due to the developments in technology. The second quality that he showed was his leadership skills in group projects, this is a vital attribute for a good technologist, leading a group project was always going to have transferable skills into working within a design team in practice. The last part of Luke’s interview that was noted was his ability to manage and work through the adversity of COVID. He graduated in 2021 with a First-Class Honours degree, which in a time of uncertainty was a brilliant result.
Shortly after graduating, Luke joined P+HS Architects as an Architectural Technologist and it was clear that the same passion and work ethic from his studies transferred immediately into this career. From the off, Luke showed a willingness to learn and wanted exposure to as much of the job role as possible. The first project involvement he had was in the healthcare team as technical support for a new Emergency Department in Scunthorpe. During this period, he helped the team with the production of stage 3, 4 and 5 drawings, schedules, specifications and covered as project lead when team members were out of office. Luke often went above and beyond to ensure the work was completed, reviewed, and amended to the highest quality and never settled for ‘good enough’ which was brilliant to see. During these early months at P+HS he built strong relationships with colleagues and external consultants through his enthusiasm and commitment.
After Luke’s first six months it was clear that he was ready to progress from a technical support role and start taking on more responsibility. This is something Luke had mentioned during his first PDP (personal development plan) review, and we were more than willing to provide him with these opportunities. In November 2021 Luke was nominated as project lead for a GP surgery extension and refurbishment in Rochdale. This allowed Luke to be more independent and develop his skills in meetings and on-site, regularly liaising with the design team, contractor, client and statutory authorities. During his time working on this scheme, he completed drawings such as 1:5 construction details, internal partition types and setting out plans, and external wall types and setting out plans. Another important attribute Luke had to develop was reviewing and commenting on sub-contractor information, he methodically checked drawings and provided vital feedback, ensuring it was in line with his design. I guided Luke in the right direction during this period, but as time passed, I became less and less involved. Due to him still being very early in his career we did undertake a lot of reviews and drawing checks, but it was clear that he was taking it in his stride, proving that he was more than capable of stepping up.
When the Rochdale project moved into RIBA stage 5, Lukes’s availability increased, and we felt it was the right time to give Luke a larger scheme to run as project lead - Scunthorpe Same Day Emergency Care Unit. This was a refurbishment of the old Emergency Department which included a range of acute healthcare services with the constraints of working on an existing building. This new challenge saw Luke having to think on his feet and problem solve in high pressure situations. Not to mention he was still visiting the Rochdale site and dealing with site queries. Due to the nature of refurbishment, Luke faced challenges such as discovering unknown constraints during demolition. For example, the Contractor identified a structural column and shear wall which was unknown during the earlier design stages, Luke resolved this in a professional and calculated manor by providing design options to the team for review and comments. The updated design was signed off by the client shortly after, with no delays to the construction programme. Furthermore, this project required a huge amount of high-level coordination with other consultants, ensuring all clashes were dealt with in the design stages, reducing issues on site. This period was a huge learning curve for Luke and helped shape him into the technologist he is today.
A year into his employment at P+HS, Luke made it clear that becoming a Chartered Member was a huge aspiration for him and set the goal to submit his application within a 12-month period. Needless to say he passed with flying colours and gained extremely positive feedback. It was a proud moment to see Luke walk out of the interview room with a smile on his face, a massively well-deserved moment. Having completed his MCIAT at the age of 24 it was a shining example to the junior members of staff at how you can excel if you push yourself and dedicate extra hours outside of the office.
Moving up the ranks into a more senior role, Luke is now acting as a mentor to one of our junior technologists, Ben. Since taking on the mentor role, Luke has shown clear commitment into helping Ben’s development, similar to how Luke started at P+HS. His guidance and encouragement have really helped Ben in the early stages of his career. In addition to the help during work hours, Luke also offers his time to review and provide feedback on Ben’s college work, which is a true reflection of his personality and character. Not only is Luke mentoring junior staff day to day, but he is also relied upon for support when it comes to the MCIAT interview preparation. Luke often sits down with colleagues undertaking the MCIAT interview and guides them based on his recent experiences.
The level of technical ability and eye for detail that Luke showed in his interview has really proved to be a key part of his success and competency. Luke has developed an extremely strong understanding of 1:5 technical detailing and presents his drawings clearly, including all the relevant information required. Over the past year, Luke has served as
the technical lead on several projects from RIBA Stage 4 onwards. This stage is typically when we deliver the 1:20 and 1:5 details. Most recently was a modular construction project located in Poole, Bournemouth which is due to start on site later in the year. This was Luke’s first experience working on a modular project, but he quickly adapted and asked all the right questions. Despite limited information from other consultants, Luke took the initiative in Design Team Meetings, frequently requesting the necessary details to ensure everything was meticulously coordinated for his tight Stage 4 deadline. Luke has now established himself as a trusted member of the technical team for advice during the technical stages of a project.
More recently, Luke has been putting his mentoring and technical detailing skills into practice by visiting Leeds Beckett University as an Alumni, helping with the detailing workshops. These sessions have involved Luke sitting down with each student in a 1-1 session, allowing the students to present their work and ask questions. Luke not only provides valuable feedback and advice to the students but acts as a role model figure (it was only 3 years ago that Luke was sitting in their seat). After speaking with Luke’s university tutor, she expressed immense gratitude and pride in seeing him return to campus to give back to the university where he studied.
To summarise, we think Luke’s accomplishments during the past three years are a huge credit to him, and we’re excited to see what the next three years hold. He has gone from strength to strength, starting as a graduate fresh from university, to becoming a Chartered Member of CIAT, a mentor, a project lead with a portfolio of projects and an established member of the technical team.
Luke is a shining example of a young technologist with the self-motivation, drive, and talent to succeed. In addition, he has seized opportunities to support his career through additional learning and the MCIAT accreditation. As he continues to expand and share his knowledge, he has become a respected mentor and ambassador for CIAT and P+HS, inspiring the next generation to follow in his footsteps. From an employer’s perspective, we are not only impressed with the value that Luke has brought to our team and projects, but in him we see a rarer quality: a young man with an inherent love for the craft of Architectural Technology and a passion for excellence. He is indeed a talent to watch for the future.