Show Notes
From cubbies in the bush to projects in Melbourne, London, and New York, Martin’s career has spanned continents, practices, and passions. Now an Associate at FXCollaborative, he reflects on what drives him as an architect and his advocacy for diversity through Build Out Alliance. 00:00 Intro 02:51 Designing for the end user’s needs and enjoyment 05:38 DIY projects family building and formal training 08:09 London office planting the seed for international work 11:49 Getting licensed from the UK to New York 16:19 Balancing the technical and creative sides of architecture 18:49 Taking projects from concept through to completion 21:32 Working in London compared with New York contracts 24:10 Investing time in relearning codes and licensing 26:43 Build Out Alliance advocacy and LGBTQ+ support 29:33 Splitting time between comfort and work quality 32:21 Building awareness and inclusivity in the creative industry 36:18 Gaining opportunities and confidence through Build Out Alliance 39:14 Navigating straight environments and the energy of code switching 42:40 Designing with inclusivity and community in mind4 5:11 Making the move to New York and the mainland 48:02 Supporting queer communities through architecture and advocacy
More from Bespoke Careers Podcast
We’ve wrapped season one of the Bespoke Careers Podcast. 42 episodes, from architecture students right up to institute presidents.Here's some of the best advice that stuck with us. Seven ideas worth hearing, from 196 years of combined experience.
James Zagari is the co-founder of EST Lighting, an Australian lighting company he established in 2016 after a career that began almost by accident with a sales role at Philips Lighting.
Download the 2026 Global Salary Guide: https://www.bespokecareers.com/salary-guide/Muyiwa Oki is an architect at Mace and was President of RIBA from 2023 to 2025, the institute's youngest and first Black president, elected after a grassroots campaign that started in a WhatsApp group.He studied at Sheffield, did his Part 3 with RIBA North West, and worked at Glenn Howells Architects in Birmingham and Grimshaw in London before moving to Mace, where he works the front end of projects with public and private clients. During his term he set up the workplace and wellbeing task force and the RIBA's AI advisory group, and pushed the institution on pay, access to the profession and level 7 funding.
Illya Azaroff calls architecture his side gig. He's also the 2026 president of the American Institute of Architects and has spent 30 years responding to disasters around the world.His father arrived in the US as a displaced war refugee from Ukraine, and Illya grew up at a dinner table where hunger was a firsthand memory. That upbringing led to a degree in geography, then a career in disaster mitigation, and now the presidency of a 100,000-member institution.We get into what the presidency is like from the inside, why his kids are the reason he ran, the ethos he borrowed from the Kalinago people in the Caribbean, why nearly half of small businesses never reopen after a disaster, and the message he wants every architect to hear: you are more powerful to your community than you realize.
Shajay Bhooshan is an Associate Director at ZHA Architects and co-founder of ZHA CODE, the practice's computation and design research group, now 28 people inside a studio of around 500. He studied at the AA's Design Research Laboratory, where he still teaches, and completed his PhD with the Block Research Group at ETH Zurich. His work spans high performance geometry, robotic fabrication, game engines and participatory design, including the 3D printed concrete bridge Striatus.