Sam McElhinney

I joined Surface Architects in 2005, having previously spent a year working on high end residential projects after my Part 1. To switch to a practice that was delivering highly conceptual work was a new and exciting experience.

I twice deferred returning to university to do my Part 2, but when I did it was invaluable to have strong supporting links with an office. It was also a relief to have somewhere to return to, as when I graduated from the Bartlett in 2009 it seemed there were more redundancies than job opportunities.

Having worked at Surface for six years now, I am the longest serving member of staff other than the directors. With the staff count varying in this time I have been exposed to a wide range of roles and responsibilities, including a number of office management jobs. For example, I've been instrumental in setting up our computer system and I handle the majority of our interactions with press.

Surface is a pretty relaxed office - but we work hard and enjoy it. Over the years I've been central to countless concepts and competitions, and my 3D modeling skills allowed me to play a key role in the construction of the complex geometries of our Centre for Film and Visual Media at Birkbeck. We are also all responsible for marketing and bringing in new work; I think these skills are vital for Part 2 graduates if they want to run their own practice one day.

The one downside of working in a small, design focused practice is that the opportunities to build can be limited; in this way I have occasionally felt a little restricted regarding Part 3 opportunities. Still, this year I got to lecture on our work at the MAXXI Centre in Rome, so I think that on balance I can't complain!

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