I have been involved in architecture all my professional career of some 40 years.

I started out as a junior assistant to an architect in the Potteries. I migrated to London in the early sixties - a wonderful time to be there, Carnaby Street and all the rest of that era. I worked on some very interesting projects during that time. Firstly as an Architectural Assistant at CFD Partnership in Mercer Street (just off Long Acre when it was still a fruit market). The practice was involved in the production of the Cape manual and I prepared most of the technical details and drawings for that manual along with the drawings for the Medway Timber Building Method manual. The practice also worked on the Royal Lancaster Hotel, Biba Boutique and other iconic examples of sixties culture. My specific role in the later stages of my work at CFD was in the design of and introduction of multi-auditoria cinemas in a wide range of dissociated building shells; Panton Street CineCentre being one of those - a four auditorium continuous programme twin projection room (back to back and one above the other) serving the four auditoria with one, very active projectionist! These multi auditoria cinemas were the fore runner of the modern multiplex cinema centres which, at the time, was very ground breaking. It was particularly interesting because the cinematograph technology was complex and involved the development of short focal length projection technology and mirror bounced images to get the focal length right - this in itself was also ground breaking.

As a result of my work in auditoria design I obtained a post at Thurrock Urban District Council Architects' Dept where I worked on the then new civil theatre and museum complex. From there I moved to Norwich to work in a large practice there from which eight years later I was made redundant (the late seventies collapse) and then set up my own practice in Norfolk from which, over the last twenty six years I have offered my services as a sole practitioner Architectural Technologist.
 
During that time I qualified as an Architectural Technologist, became a member of the Chartered Management Institute, a member of the Association for Project Safety, a member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation and an incorporate of CIOB. I gained a masters degree in building conservation and management at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh with whom I have since been involved both as a MSc course module leader and tutor and also as a Research Associate writing the CPD support material for pan-professional accreditation of conservation skills under the aegis of the Edinburgh Group. We are presently converting the textual material of the CPD support to a web based format that will be freely available to practitioners presenting for accreditation of conservation skills.

I am writing a book on conservation and remain an active contributor to CIAT business and still operate as a sole practitioner and have also extended into Party Wall Surveying.
 
I have seen CIAT grow and develop from its origins as SAAT in the sixties to its professional status as a Chartered Institute and am proud to have been part of the Institute's development as a contributing member.