Emma Henderson

"Coach - as an architect I often find myself leading teams of other designers (engineers, interior designers, acousticians, landscape designers); I also have to build relationships with clients and people who use the buildings I design to help them understand what they want from projects. Being understanding, approachable, a good listener and a problem solver is at the root of being a good architect so the 'coach' personality type definitely fits what I do well!Quality Controller - creating buildings can involve a lot of risk: buildings done wrong can set on fire, fall down, or just cost a client a lot of money. So controlling quality is also essential in architecture. This can mean developing an innovative concept at the early stages of design, or it can mean carefully developing the details of how materials are put together and which materials are chosen on a project (in other words, architects often have to control quality all the way from the big picture things right down to the little bits).Influencer - the descriptions of the 'influencer' type are really interesting. I see this as being linked to the 'mediator' side of my job. On some projects I have engaged with hundreds of people (building users, designers, members of the public) and have had to balance all of their needs and desires, creating something that they can hopefully all enjoy at the end."

"I design buildings. Right now I am designing a restaurant, a salmon smokehouse, some private houses and some affordable housing. In the past I have designed parts of airports, primary schools, art galleries and university buildings. I most enjoy how varied the work is. Each client, site and brief is unique and each stage of a project is also very different (from concept through to construction). In my first role in Edinburgh after completing my masters degree, my salary was £25k."

"At school I really didn't know what I wanted to do. I felt torn between my love for art and my love for maths and physics. I didn't know very much about architecture when I applied to do it at University but it seemed like it would let me continue to do all the things I loved (which it has).When I was at University I was very inspired by one of my tutors, who taught me how architecture shapes cities and places and ultimately influences how we all live our lives. She also helped me to understand how the development of buildings and cities can either help or worsen social inequality. This motivated me to volunteer in a neighbourhood in the East End of Glasgow, where some urban developments had removed all of the play spaces for local children. At this playground I got to use my knowledge of building by helping them build an Ewok village of treehouses.Later on, I worked for some developers (who used to be managing directors of Greenpeace) on a project for 1000 new homes. They were very passionate about sustainability and helped me to understand the crucial role the built environment has to play in working towards a more sustainable future - especially as buildings are one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions!"

"I love painting and am always making elaborate birthday cards for people. I've recently been doing up my flat so have got very good at DIY, including tiling my whole kitchen! At weekends and after work I try and get outdoors as much as possible: cycling about exploring the city, surfing, climbing up Scottish hills or swimming in lochs. But mostly I spend as much time as I can dancing and chatting and being silly with my friends - life's too short not to play as hard as you work!"

"Every day is different for me! Some days I'm going to construction sites to check on progress of builds and help builders with technical queries; or I might be going to potential sites at the start of a project to look at the existing condition. Other days I'm in the office sketching and workshopping ideas with my colleagues, or drawing them up on the computer, or preparing information to help the builders on site, or calling up other designers to get their input. Other days I might be at meetings with clients or design teams or holding consultation sessions with building users. For example, I worked on a University project where we held workshops with students and staff to hear directly from them what spaces they needed and to get feedback on our proposals.The variety of the job is what I love most about it!"

"School:A-Levels in Physics, Maths, Art and French (AS)University:Undergraduate: MA (Hons) in Architecture (4 years at Edinburgh University, including 6 months placement at an architecture practice in Glasgow)Postgraduate: MArch in Architecture (2 years at Edinburgh University)Work:Part 3 Examination in Professional Practice and Management (~2 years preparation whilst working)"