Laura Mitchell, Associate Architect (Heritage team)
What’s the most important piece of advice you’ve ever been given? “Be yourself and don’t ever stop learning”. This advice continues to hold true to as, being a heritage-focused architect, I’m continuing to develop specialist knowledge, explore, and learn about different architectural styles and materials. I’m also part of a team that continually makes discoveries – these range from finding apotropaic marks in wooden beams to having paint analysis confirm the adaptions and additions to intricate plasterwork.
What’s one message you would send to young women who may be considering a similar career? Architecture can be hugely rewarding, and its heritage side offers a variety of amazing challenges which allow us to consider how things work together and how the immediate setting influences buildings and places. It’s a career which enables us to explore the lives of people who have lived and experienced places as they evolve, and how the functions of these places adapt to show an appreciation of their qualities versus the essentials in everyday modern life.
Is there a woman who’s inspired you during your life? There are many inspiring women, past and present, who I feel fortunate to come across. What makes them inspirational to me is often their philanthropic nature and a driven passion. Take, for example, Ferguson’s Gang – a group formed in 1927 with five core members, all of whom were women. They sought to raise awareness of the need to protect rural areas and supported organisations dedicated to preserving England’s heritage. Aside from the places they saved, their ingenuity and personalities shine through in the eccentricity of their donations – ‘swag’ money collected inside a fake pineapple; a one-hundred pound note stuffed inside a cigar; five hundred pounds with a bottle of homemade sloe gin.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you? It’s a day of gratitude to the women and men who have enabled and supported women in past, and one which ensures this support and contribution is continued for equality and diversity in the future, irrespective of how the challenges may evolve.
How can companies make workplaces more inclusive? Ada Lovelace’s quote, “Strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them” talks to me about the collaborative approach that seeks to address issues around inclusion. Tapping into all employees’ and other consultants’ knowledge and perspectives can only help make better decisions.