Young designers spotlight - Ben Speedy

For this Young Designers Spotlight, we sat down with Ben Speedy, design director at The Development Collective. His range of work and life experience has led him to pushing himself outside of his comfort zone and across the world. Here is what he had to say:

1. What got you into architecture?

 

I was always that weird kid who always knew what he wanted to do. Combining my interest in engineering, a good high school graphics teacher and a love for Lego, means that Architecture has been on my mind for a while!

 

2. What do you enjoy about architecture?

 

It would have to be the collaborative process. Working with 10 – 15 different consultants and clients who are active in the design process brings the best ideas to the table. Having a successful project come together in this manner gives me a lot of satisfaction.

 

3. Where do you pull inspiration from for your work?

 

My inspiration is usually focused on the surrounding context. I believe that each project should be site responsive to ensure that it is well placed within its environment. I’d say that means there is no style I strictly stick to but prefer to adapt to what is around me.

 

4. What has been the biggest learning curve for you in your career so far?

 

That would have to be coming to work at The Development Collective. I joined during the middle of a Covid lockdown period as a Senior Designer but moved into the Design Director role after about a month. That moved me from working on my own projects to managing a range of them across the team. All of this required a lot of learning on the fly but taught me a lot. You’ve got to fake it until you make it sometimes!