Laura Simpkins story is useful because it shows architecture practice life as it actually happens: career ambition, family, pressure, timing and a lot of adaptation.
In this Architecture Social conversation, Stephen Drew speaks with Laura about working in larger practices, raising a family, navigating the pandemic and launching through Pride Road Architects.
Why this conversation is useful
Architecture careers are often presented as a clean line from education to practice to senior role. Laura offers a more realistic version, where life and work keep intersecting.
- Large practice experience can still feed a smaller, more personal route later.
- Parenting and caring responsibilities shape career decisions in practical ways.
- Side work, teaching or local roles can be part of resilience rather than failure.
- A franchise or supported practice model can offer a route into business ownership.
- Momentum often comes from adapting, not waiting for perfect conditions.
What candidates can take from Laura Simpkins story
If your own route through architecture has not been linear, that does not make it weaker. The key is to explain the pattern: what you learned, how you adapted and what kind of practice environment now fits you.
For employers, this is also a useful reminder. The best person for a role may not have the neatest timeline. Look for judgement, resilience, communication and evidence of ownership.
Architecture Social view
Laura story sits in the part of architecture recruitment that matters most: real people building careers around real constraints. That is often where the strongest long-term practice fit is found.
Next step: map the story behind your CV
If your career route has twists in it, make the story easy for a practice to understand.
- Explain the context without over-sharing.
- Show what each stage taught you.
- Connect the route to the kind of work and practice you want now.
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