Narrative Practice

Last Thursday we were invited into @OfficialHeatherwickStudio for an evening of talks, tours and dedicated mentoring, with the studio opened up generously and holding space for thoughtful exchange throughout! Incredibly grateful to the team who supported the NP group on the evening: Roxane Baillet, Kian Jansuwan, Wolfgang Frese, Luiz Rocha, Sergiu Dan Lacatus, Ed Meyers, Raina Lin, Mary Suen, Henry Aldridge, Hosein Shahhoseini, James Harris, Kevin Leung, Syafiq Jubri, Carol Lau, Rahul Raj Choorakad, Eleni Vlataki, and Susanna Rachel Shajan. The evening started with an introduction from NP and Heatherwick Studio from Ricardo Sosa Mejia, following by a tour of the ground floor model space alongside Syafiq Jubri. We then made our way upstairs to settle in to an evening of mentoring, informal networking and the first of the years collaborations. Lenny at Queerscapes CIC introduced their pertinent work as well as Aaron Taylor and Pete Toule at Solus Tiles showcasing a much needed and grounded view on material use. NP Mentor Team: Hammad Haider, Sneha Parashar, Elliott Wang, Elena Slezaite, Nathalie Harris, Evana Ahamed, Spencer Lu, Rebecca Fish, Luxmi Nanthakumar, Dardan Zenuni, Pakyin Lee and Adam Tarasewicz. A special note to say we also saw Naina Manglik coming through as a mentee-turned-mentor, giving back into the room alongside Shazia Dhalla and Fiona Gyamfi coordinating the evening from start to finish! — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on improving representation in the built environment. Sessions is our flagship programme, connecting young people with professionals through free mentoring evenings, reviews and workshops. To date, NP has supported over 1,090 individuals and has been recognised by, and collaborated with the Architects’ Journal, RIBA London, TET (ThorntonEducationTrust), London Festival of Architecture, Archiboo, Build The Way C.I.C and Blueprint for All. #MentoringMatters #WorkplaceMentoring #LandscapeArchitecture #DiversityInArchitecture #EmpoweringYouth

Last week, Emily Cater introduced the Mentors Code at @RIBA Interface 4. Developed through her advocacy module at @LondonMetUni and grounded in experience as both mentee and mentor at NP, her provocation questioned who mentoring is really for and who carries the responsibility. Bottom-up advocacy of this kind feels especially necessary when conversations around professional practice experience are still largely shaped by institutions and those in positions of authority, rather than by the people navigating these systems in real time. Thank you to Jenny Russell, @SumitaSingha_RIBA and @Nicholls.Justin for the platform — she looks forward to continuing dialogue with @RIBALondon and @ArchRegUK over the upcoming weeks. Emily was also joined by @Sanjana.NN sharing her direct experience of study at Central Saint Martins.

From mentee to maker — NP Alum, Riya Mamtora, has been gathering reflections from our current mentees to capture what Sessions means to them. Originally starting as a mentee herself, Riya joined Sessions for project and portfolio reviews and quickly became an active voice within the group. A recent Bartlett architecture graduate, her work explored themes of reuse, community and learning — values that closely align with our own ethos. It’s been brilliant to see her return, bringing that same curiosity and initiative to help document the evolving research and impact of our mentoring community. 🎤 Riya Mamtora 📹 Donna-Marie Byrne Twist #MentoringMatters #DiversityInArchitecture #EDI #InclusionMatters #WomenLeaders #DesignDiversity #EmpoweringYouth

EDIT: POSTPONED. [NP Sessions / 8th May] @OrmsArchitects have kindly invited the programme back to their studio later this week for another evening of mentoring. We’ll be spending the evening in conversation — reviewing projects, portfolios and ideas, and opening up space to talk more honestly about navigating the built environment. A big thank you to Leon Raznatovski, Nathalie Harris, Daniela Slaveva and the team for having us back. Orms is an award-winning London architecture practice working across retrofit, workplace, hospitality and cultural projects. The practice is known for its thoughtful approach to existing buildings, combining design quality with a strong understanding of context, reuse and long-term value. Booking link via Eventbrite — link in bio. 📸 Credit: NP Sessions x Orms Architects October 2025 — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on improving representation in the built environment. Sessions is our flagship programme, connecting young people with professionals through free mentoring evenings, reviews and workshops. To date, NP has supported over 1,090 individuals and has been recognised by, and collaborated with Architect’s Journal, RIBA London, TET (ThorntonEducationTrust), London Festival of Architecture, Archiboo, Build The Way C.I.C and Blueprint for All. #MentoringMatters #InclusionMatters #DiversityInArchitecture #WomenInArchitecture #EmpoweringYouth @RIBALondon @YoungTrustees

[NP Sessions / 30th April] Next up is our collaboration with the future talent and engagement teams at @OfficialHeatherwickStudio . We’ve been hard at work on our programme for the year! Please join us for our next evening exploring the Heatherwick Studio, their models, a project talk and product workshops alongside informal networking and one-to-one mentoring! Ideal for young creatives to discuss their design work or simply chat about your careers within the built environment. Special thanks to @RicardoSosaMejia and Kim Megson for really welcoming us in to their space and for their continued support! Heatherwick Studio is an internationally recognised design studio known for its multidisciplinary approach spanning architecture, product design and public space. Alongside this primary strand, the studio demonstrates a commitment to education, outreach and supporting future talent through public engagement, creative learning initiatives and opportunities that broaden access to design thinking. Booking link via Eventbrite — link in bio. 📸 Credit: NP Collaboration with Syracuse University — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on improving representation in the built environment. Sessions is our flagship programme, connecting young people with professionals through free mentoring evenings, reviews and workshops. To date, NP has supported over 1,060 individuals and has been recognised by, and collaborated with Architect’s Journal, RIBA London, TET (ThorntonEducationTrust), London Festival of Architecture, Archiboo, Build The Way C.I.C and Blueprint for All. #MentoringMatters #InclusionMatters #DiversityInArchitecture #WomenInArchitecture #EmpoweringYouth @RIBALondon @YoungTrustees

A big thank you to Coffey Architects for backing this months Sessions evening and helping create such a generous and open space for conversation. There’s something quietly powerful about people giving their time and experience so freely! Grateful to Anthony Wong, Arseni Timofejev, Michael Henriksen, Moia McErlean and Rafid Sulaiman for the care and thought you brought to your conversations. And a special thanks to Dorota Glab and Sana Tabassum for welcoming us into the space and for their continued support. NP Mentor Team: Anastasia Kalaitzi, Sneha Parashar, Elliott Wang, Semi Han, George Aboagye Williams, Nathalie Harris, Luxmi Nanthakumar and Adam Tarasewicz. 📹: NP Alumni — Zainab Hayder — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on improving representation in the built environment. Sessions is our flagship programme, connecting young people with professionals through free mentoring evenings, reviews and workshops. To date, NP has supported over 1,070 individuals and has been recognised by, and collaborated with Architects’ Journal, RIBA London, TET (ThorntonEducationTrust), London Festival of Architecture, Archiboo, Build The Way C.I.C and Blueprint for All. #MentoringMatters #WorkplaceMentoring #LandscapeArchitecture #DiversityInArchitecture #EmpoweringYouth

What makes a mentoring relationship successful? We recently hosted @narrativepractice ’s first mentoring session outside of London at Cooper’s Studios, our headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne. Mentors in professional roles across the architecture industry share what they think makes mentoring work 📹 #Everythingarchitecture #mentoring #inclusion

Celebrating a small but exciting moment — really happy to have completed BSL Level 1. @Remark.UK have been excellent teachers throughout, and a big thank you to @ChrisLaing_ for the recommendation. #BritishSignLanguage #BSL

[NP Sessions / 5th March] For our next mentoring event of the year we will be visiting Coffey Architects! Join us for an evening of in-person mentoring and informal networking. Ideal for young creatives to discuss their design work or simply chat about your careers within the built environment. Special thanks to Dorota Glab and Sana Tabassum for welcoming us in to their space and for their continued support! Coffey Architects is an award-winning practice recognised for thoughtfully crafted housing and mixed-use projects that balance strong design with commercial delivery. Recently named Architect of the Year 2025 at the British Homes Awards, the practice also received awards for Cobham Bowers (Best Community Living) and The Tannery (Development of the Year, 20–100 Homes), alongside the Judges’ Award for Excellence — reflecting an approach grounded in people, context and long-term value. Booking link via Eventbrite — link in bio. 📸 Credit: Coffey Architects — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on improving representation in the built environment. Sessions is our flagship programme, connecting young people with professionals through free mentoring evenings, reviews and workshops. To date, NP has supported over 1,060 individuals and has been recognised by, and collaborated with Architect’s Journal, RIBA London, TET (ThorntonEducationTrust), London Festival of Architecture, Archiboo, Build The Way C.I.C and Blueprint for All. #MentoringMatters #InclusionMatters #DiversityInArchitecture #WomenInArchitecture #EmpoweringYouth @RIBALondon @YoungTrustees

Last Friday, @RyderArchitecture generously opened up their Newcastle studio doors for the evening, welcoming a brilliant group of young creatives for thoughtful conversations, shared experience and open exchange. This month we marked an important step in taking NP beyond London, working with students from the PlanBEE (Built Environment Education) Apprenticeship at Gateshead College and Northumbria University — continuing nearly six years of ongoing research exploring how long-term mentoring can widen access into the profession. It has taken a genuine collective effort to bring this together; extremely grateful to the teams at — Ryder Architecture, Change The Record, RIBA NE and Okana; Styliani Michael, Lydia Mills, Dr Izzy Williams, Andrew Fong, Andrew Johnson, Sarah Hodgson and Amy Robinson. FaulknerBrowns; Amelia Low, Lee Thackray, Jay Hallsworth, Jack Menzies-Astley, Harrison Avery, Rachael Maclean and Harry Kershaw. Northumbria University; Tasmiya Naseer Corstorphine & Wright; Xueqing Zhang P+HS Architects; Maral Tulip MAZi Architects; Despoina Papadopoulou A huge special thank you to, Narrative Practice Mentors and Newcastle University Alumni, Semi Han (@Denizen_Works ) and @JosephRGoodwin for their incredible efforts in not just overall organisation but also the smooth running of the evening. — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on improving representation in the built environment. Sessions is our flagship programme, connecting young people with professionals through free mentoring evenings, reviews and workshops. To date, NP has supported over 1,060 individuals and has been recognised by, and collaborated with Architects’ Journal, RIBA London, TET (ThorntonEducationTrust), London Festival of Architecture, Archiboo, Build The Way C.I.C and Blueprint for All. #MentoringMatters #WorkplaceMentoring #LandscapeArchitecture #DiversityInArchitecture #EmpoweringYouth

Makower Architects and MSP generously opened up their studio doors for last nights mentoring evening, for a brilliant group of young creatives, to share thoughtful conversations, insight and plenty of open exchange. Big thanks to Carl Gbeddy, Victoria Oshinusi, Hui Chi Hu, Gunther Galligioni and Jihyeon Min for giving their time so freely, and of course to the NP team for your consistent support. A special shout out to NP Alumni Faiza Zaki for initiating the event and Evie Dunne and Agnes Makower for all your invaluable help on the evening! The running order of the evening was solely led by NP Alumni Shazia Dhalla and Minyoung Choi (from Metropolitan Workshop). NP Mentor Team: Adam Tarasewicz, Spencer Lu, Niraj Shah, Anastasia Kalaitzi, George Aboagye Williams, Parisa Kanabar and Karen Young. — Narrative Practice is an award-winning mentoring platform focused on improving representation in the built environment. Sessions is our flagship programme, connecting young people with professionals through free mentoring evenings, reviews and workshops. To date, NP has supported over 1,030 individuals and has been recognised by, and collaborated with Architects’ Journal, RIBA London, TET (ThorntonEducationTrust), London Festival of Architecture, Archiboo, Build The Way C.I.C and Blueprint for All. #MentoringMatters #WorkplaceMentoring #LandscapeArchitecture #DiversityInArchitecture #EmpoweringYouth

“It’s not just opening doors, it’s also about people being able to walk through those doors and steer the ship…” At out event last year, Legend Morgan of @freehausdesign made the point that listening is all very well, but it means nothing if less-heard voices aren’t able to influence or take ownership as a result. So our second follow up B-side is all about allies, mentoring and what happens on the other side of these open doors. Alongside cohosts @freeemmaldn and @rachel_birchmore , it features two brilliant guests, Isobel Brodrick of @dbrlimited and Dhruv Gulabchande of @narrativepractice / @hfmarchitects and a cast of characters including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Kardashians and Mrs Thomas from Dhruv’s Year 4 English class. Introducing our guests: Dhruv Gulabchande is an associate director at HFM Architects with 12+ years of retrofit and refurbishment experience in retail and healthcare sectors. He leads award-winning non-profit mentoring platform, Narrative Practice, where his research promotes diversity through integration of mentoring into architectural practice and academia. Isobel Brodrick has worked at DBR for over 9 years, progressing from Assistant Projects Manager following graduating to Head of Projects at the Palace of Westminster and, in 2024, Assistant Director of DBR. She has delivered numerous high-profile heritage projects, including works on Elizabeth Tower known as Big Ben. Link in bio for episode and our ever evolving Spotify playlist which contains the tracks picked by everyone who has been involved so far. The Listening Post Project is brought to you by leadership coach Rachel Birchmore and brand strategist and writer Emma Keyte. Our mission is to bring together curious minds, make space for listening and break down echo chambers.