Blog posts tagged Interview

A new direction | David Kent

The story so far… David became a member of the RIBA in 1980 and after a period of working for a practice in Cambridge, he moved with his family down to the West Country in 1983. David set up DKA in 1993, and said “We were in the teeth of a recession, there was no long term plan other than keeping the small team busy.” Now, David has spent nearly two thirds of his professional life in the Malt House and has seen the studio grow to around 42 people at its busiest. DKA has been involved in countless buildings; two that David recalls… READ MORE

A new direction | Fabien Coupat

The story so far… Fabien arrived in the UK in 1995 and graduated from the University of Bath in 2001, before rolling down Bathwick Hill and starting at DKA that summer. He completed his Part 3 with the support of his DKA colleagues in 2007. Fabien says “Considering my serious case of itchy feet, having been at DKA for 16 years is a testament to the quality of the DKA team and its workplace environment. Our open studio has definitely contributed to my personal development, enabling continuous learning from my peers over the years.”   People may not know… Although… READ MORE

A new direction | James Bastable

The story so far… James graduate from the Welsh School of Architecture in 2004 and completed his Part 3 studies in 2006 following two years in practice elsewhere in Bath. After deciding the time was right for a fresh challenge James joined DKA in the autumn of 2006. James says “Although I have been involved in projects across many sectors, 90% of my projects during my 11 years at DKA have been in the industrial, engineering and automotive sectors. During this time I have inherited and developed a specialist understanding of building and operational requirements in what can be a… READ MORE

A new direction | Alex Bell

The story so far… Alex joined DKA in 2002 – the year the Euro was introduced across the 12 EU member states and Gareth Gates’ Unchained Melody topped the charts for a (staggering) 4 weeks. After 6 years at the University of Bath, Alex graduated as the recipient of the RIBA Wessex Prize for design. With the world at his feet, he accepted a position at DKA, 1.4 miles from the University. Alex says “I’ve been lucky enough to run projects across many sectors over 15 years. As a young architect I designed motor dealerships and primary schools, then commercial… READ MORE

My DKA story | Simon Lawrence

After graduating from the Welsh School of Architecture and qualifying in 1981, I moved from London to Bristol in the late 1980’s working in private practice and at the University of Bristol till joining DKA . The practice started in 1993 and I joined a year later. Like any organization in the construction industry and certainly any architects’ practice, we’ve experienced a few ups and downs since then but the practice is in great shape with a strong and varied client base, some really talented people supported by the latest computing technology and software and a newly refurbished office. From… READ MORE