Interior Architecture Graduates, Part 2

Following on from our first Interior Architecture Alumni Blog we hear from five more of our alumni to find out where a degree in Interior Architecture and Design (IAD) might take you after Leeds Beckett University:

HOLLY MILLER (Graduated 2003)

Director, Caravan Images

Holly co-founded Caravan Images in 2013. Caravan Images is an architectural visualisation and rendering studio, helping the world’s top architects and designers to showcase their ideas. Holly formerly worked at Foster and Partners in the Narinder Sagoo's visualization team, where she gained lots of great experience working for Norman Foster on some exciting projects.  

Caravan love working with clients from the start of a visualisation and rendering project. For Holly, there’s no greater buzz than being involved in turning the first inkling of inspiration into a fully-fledged idea. At the same time, she is just as happy to jump in and help visualise their thinking. 

ELLEN PRYCE (Graduated 2003),

Director, Nanu Soda

"I started my own company when I was 25 to work on an Indian restaurant in Canterbury and things just grew from there. We are now an award-winning team of 8 dedicated designers and architects, including another IAD Alumna, Rachel Wootton (graduated 2005). Our team have travelled the world working in Russia, Qatar and recently for the F.A. on the prestigious Wembley stadium creating the Lioness Bar and the Centre Circle hospitality spaces. 

You may know, The Palace Pub by the church and also Chophaus in Roundhay, Leeds, but probably my most favourite project to date has to be The Emerald Headingley Stadium for Caddick Construction which won us, The Northern Design award for an Interior Project over £1 Million. This was part of the £80 Million new build stand, with long days on site, where many tears of joy and frustration were shed! 

We continue to push the boundaries for a relatively small team and are currently on site with our first £16 Million new build Specialist Dementia Care home in Harrogate, alongside our first major hotel project, a £9 Million redevelopment of The Calls Hotel in Leeds where our CGI were nominated for an SBID design excellence award. 

I’m really proud of my team and how we can diversify into different design disciplines. Our mantra is ‘We got this’ being easy and fun to work with is a must and we strive to make what can seem a stressful process for all involved a breeze!"

NINA HAYLOCK-HIRST (Graduated 2008)

Associate Interior Designer, 5plus Architects 

"I returned to 5plus Architects in their London office in 2019. I first started out as a Junior Interior Designer in the Manchester Office not long after graduating.

During my career so far I have had the opportunity to work on a multitude of different projects, ranging from new global headquarters, airports, high-end residential and hospitality, across Europe, Asia and North America.

I re-joined 5plus Architects as an Associate Interior Designer following 4 years at Foster and Partners, architects, to lead the interior design for the British Council. This project has just been completed on site. The project was to design a new bespoke interior fit-out of the British Council’s prestigious new global headquarters at the International Quarter London (IQL), an emerging neighbourhood next to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The building has triple glazed climate wall façades and an exposed concrete frame, with all floors linked by a series of double height spaces and atrium to connect and coordinate with the different working environments.

Working alongside the clients design and workplace guidelines, we have delivered a project that includes a multi-purpose space on the ground floor (including exhibition/gallery space), flexible working office spaces with a focus on individual working and open and enclosed collaborative work settings. There is also a large south facing terrace on the first floor overlooking the Olympic Stadium and park with new interventions to create workplace setting and breakout for staff and visitors throughout the year."

ROB PARTRIDGE (Graduated 2011)

Senior Designer, Daytrip Studio

"Since graduating in 2011 I have worked on a wide range of projects in the UK and abroad, from workplace and hospitality, to exhibition design. My favourite being retail design which has given me an opportunity to work with some prestigious clients, such as Selfridges, Versace and other luxury retail clients. I really enjoy experimenting with materials and the detail of design, at both large and small scales, and it’s been great to be able to explore these in different sectors."

JAZZMINE BARRETT (Graduated 2017)

Interior Designer, EPR Architects 

"Two and half years ago I moved to Manchester to start my career in Interior Design and today I’m designing some of the most exciting projects in the city. I am an Interior Designer at EPR architects, currently working on a range of high-end hospitality and retail projects, including hotels, spa/gyms and country clubs. 

I am working as design lead on a luxury retail development, and the head office and training facility for a well-known spa brand. As an Interior Designer in an architectural practice, my responsibilities include initial concept design/development and client presentations, through to detailed design drawing, specification and co-ordination with the architects, suppliers, contractors and consultants. I joined the company during the first lockdown so although I haven’t officially met everyone yet, we’ve been well connected via Teams video across our 3 offices, Manchester, London and Poland. 

Previously, I worked in a very small Interior Design company in Manchester with a Leeds Beckett IAD alumnus, Martin Dourish (graduated 2006). Martin had a lot of experience in architecture so although we were an Interior Design company, we worked through RIBA stages 1-7 on residential/student accommodation projects. As a member of a small team, I was able to have a lot of responsibility from the offset and receive one-on-one training which was invaluable as a graduate. Moda Angel Gardens, completed this year, is a BTR residential scheme in Manchester that I worked on for 2 years. It recently received the RESI Awards 2020 Development of the Year title."

Interior Architecture & Design Course Presentation

For further information and to apply visit our course page.