Show Notes
Lucy Carmichael, former Director of Practice at the RIBA and current Board Member for the University of the Built Environment, explains why the traditional, linear path into the industry is failing most students, and what the alternative looks like.
From her upbringing with architect parents, to navigating the "heyday" of design policy at CABE, Lucy has spent her life 'falling in and out of love with architecture.' The thing that keeps her coming back is the huge potential for positive impact on society.
We explore the "radical realism" of the London School of Architecture, the looming impact of AI on graduate roles, and why the most impactful architectural careers are often the ones that look the least traditional.
00:00 Intro 00:56 Route into architecture 5:48 The reality check: first jobs in architecture 8:10 Stepping out of practice 9:38 The CABE movement 14:17 Communication and storytelling in architecture 18:41 Director of Practice at the RIBA 27:10 The profession's lack of engagement with the RIBA 33:08 The school that works differently (joining the LSA) 35:25 "Radical Realism" - the LSA ethos 47:04 AI and the future of the education and the profession 55:18 Has her career turned out how she imagined? 57:54 Career advice for the next generation
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.