Welcome Adya – Interview

Following on from our interview with our other new starter Christopher, we are delighted to welcome Adya to the L E  P team as a new Part 2 Architectural Assistant!

Once again, we sat down and asked a few questions to help you (and us) find out more about Adya…

What has your career looked like before L E P?

“I graduated from my BArch in Manipal, India in 2020. This was a 5-year degree that included a placement year, and I mainly had experience of high-rise residential projects in Mumbai. I then graduated with my Masters from the Manchester School of Architecture in 2023. My focus was on computational planning and the future of AI in urbanism and architecture. After this I went back to India to qualify, but I have now come back to the UK and hope to qualify here too.”

What does life look like for you outside of work?

Aside from dance classes, I have recently started reading a lot, and I like to go outside and explore wherever I am in the world. I am also trying to travel to one new country in Eastern Asia each year, so far I have been to Japan, Singapore and Thailand, next on my bucket list are Korea or China!”

Which of the L E P values (Creative, Collaborative, Knowledgeable, Authentic, and Caring) is most important to you?

“I think for me Knowledgeable is the most important, especially the idea of sharing knowledge. As someone who is in their initial years in practice in this country it is always good to learn from people, and hopefully I can share some of my ideas about computational analysis and AI with the L E P team.”

What type of projects are you excited to work on?

“I am very excited to do educational projects – playing around with fun design to create inspiring environments for young people, but also finding the balance between the strict rules in the brief and creativity. I am also hoping to help the masterplanning team in the future.”

Do you have a favourite building?

“I am not sure if I have one favourite building, but I recently went to the new Bloomberg Building by Norman Foster near St Pauls and I loved the transparency between the outside and inside, the use of light, the clean style, and the amazing central atrium.”

What are two things about you that people wouldn’t necessarily know or expect?

“I have been a dancer for 15-20 years. During my BArch, I was part of the university team, we were selected for a national competition covering the whole of India. We came 3rd and were selected to perform in the US. I also really like coding, I have taught myself Java and used Python in my Masters.”

And finally, and most importantly, what is your favourite biscuit?

“Anything chocolate-filled!”