What It Is Like To Work At Weston Williamson + Partners, Ft. Chris Williamson Verified listing

In this Architecture Social conversation (around 34 minutes), Chris Williamson, co-founder and Chairman of WW+P Architects (Weston Williamson + Partners), talks with Stephen Drew about building a practice from a front bedroom into an international studio, what makes a studio a good place to work, and the practical things that help architects stand out when they apply for a job.

Listen to the full episode: on Spotify, or use the audio player on this page.

Who this is for

Architecture students, Part 1 and Part 2 assistants and early-career architects who want an honest look inside an established practice, anyone interested in transport architecture and city-shaping infrastructure, and people preparing job applications or interviews who want to understand what employers actually look for.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

1. Describe how a long-standing partnership and shared values can sustain a practice over decades.
2. Explain why WW+P specialised in transport and public-realm architecture, and how a specialism helps win work.
3. Recognise the role of variety, mentoring and delegation in a healthy studio culture.
4. Identify the career-development factors worth asking about when choosing where to work.
5. Apply Williamson's advice on enthusiasm and the basics to your own job applications and interviews.
6. Reflect on how technology and sustainability are reshaping the future of cities and the profession.

From a front bedroom to four continents

Williamson met Andrew Weston as architecture students at Leicester Polytechnic and the pair began entering competitions and taking on small private jobs together. They formally founded the practice in 1985, working from Weston's front bedroom. Nearly four decades on, WW+P is an award-winning architecture, planning and urban design practice of around 260 people with studios across four continents. His message: compatible but different skills, shared interests and a durable partnership matter as much as any single project.

Why transport became the specialism

An early interest in sustainability, rooted in the 1970s oil crisis, shaped the practice's direction. After winning the Jubilee Line work at London Bridge, WW+P found it enjoyed working with civil engineers and shaping cities through transport. That focus runs through London Bridge, the Crossrail stations and the Melbourne Metro Tunnel, and underpins the studio's argument that safe, efficient, well-designed public transport helps combat climate change and regenerate communities.

Variety keeps a studio healthy

Alongside transport, the practice has taken on refurbishments, design studios, a school, a church hall and a biotech centre won in international competition. Williamson argues that variety and different scales of work keep an office interesting, while a clear specialism helps a practice win and deliver work, particularly when operating abroad.

Studio culture, mentoring and letting go

WW+P aims to be an inclusive studio that shares out design responsibility so people can realise their own ambitions. Regular reviews, mentoring and a deliberately friendly culture (sports teams, life drawing, a book club, Friday ideas sessions) sit alongside the hard work. Williamson is candid about the discipline of succession: giving away responsibility, delegating real authority, and resisting the urge to control every detail.

Career development and retention

With competition for staff, Williamson stresses that people increasingly choose where to work. Beyond the basics of pay, pensions, healthcare and flexible working, he believes a clear career structure matters: people should know what grade they can aim for and how far they can go. He also reflects on practices that lost their way when founding partners left and their values were not carried on.

What stands out in a job application

His most practical advice is about getting the basics right. Too many applicants send identical emails with everyone copied in, or claim to admire a practice without naming a single project. Show genuine enthusiasm and interest, be honest, evidence what you like about the work, and be a team player. Enthusiastic, willing people get given responsibility, just as he and his peers did early in their careers.

An optimistic view of the future

Williamson is optimistic about how technology and changing travel patterns will reshape cities, with less car use, more space for cyclists and pedestrians, and greener ways of building. He champions lifelong learning and continuing professional development as the way for architects and engineers to stay ahead and keep contributing to the climate debate.

Key terms

• Transport architecture: the design of stations, interchanges and related public realm that move people efficiently and shape how cities work.
• Masterplanning and urban design: planning the layout, movement and public spaces of larger areas, often the front-end work that wins and frames a project.
• Mentoring and succession: developing people and handing over responsibility so a practice can outlast its founders.
• 10N / Egis: the design collective, created by the engineering group Egis, that WW+P is now part of; the practice merged with SvN Architects + Planners in 2025.
• Continuing professional development (CPD): structured, ongoing learning that keeps practitioners current and competitive.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. How does the studio culture where you work, or want to work, support your development and progression, and what would you ask about it at interview?
2. Williamson stresses naming a real project and showing genuine enthusiasm. How could you evidence that for a practice you admire?
3. WW+P built a specialism in transport to win work and shape cities. What focus or specialism could strengthen your own portfolio or practice?

About the guest

Chris Williamson is co-founder and Chairman of WW+P Architects (Weston Williamson + Partners), which he established in 1985 with Andrew Weston. He has been closely involved with the RIBA, teaches at the London School of Architecture and is a visiting professor at the University of East London.