A Day in the Life... of Architect, Vishal Baichande
VISHAL HAS BEEN AT LA LONDON FOR MORE THAN FOUR YEARS, BECOMING DIRECTOR OF SURVEYS IN 2020 AND AN ASSOCIATE IN 2021. WE CHAT TO HIM ABOUT A TYPICAL DAY FOR HIM AT THE FIRM.
Vishal’s day begins with an hour’s commute into Blackfriars from his home. “I’m not a breakfast person.” He explains. “I just get up; shower and I am out the door. Vishal and his wife are currently renovating their home in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. “My wife and I are very hands-on with the project so that is occupying most of our time outside of work. The plan was to get married, buy a house and renovate it. The pandemic delayed our wedding, so we were only married last year and ended up buying the house first, which is why we are currently living with my parents. I have a great relationship with them, which meant we made the decision early to go big on the renovation work and do exactly what we wanted to do.
Vishal Baichande
“My wife is an accountant, so this is not her area of expertise at all, but she has been an absolute warrior and has not shied away from the hard work involved and the long hours. If I am there, she is there with me. I am the architect for the project so if we have any little problems now, my wife always says: “We should have hired a better architect!” he explains, laughing.
Vishal uses the commute to make sure he has compiled a list of actions for his team, he also catches up on emails so he can reply as soon as he is in the office. “Now I have moved into a management role I like to use the commute to catch up and make sure everyone on my team has something to do.” Taking the train to Blackfriars allows him to walk to the office across the River Thames and be in the office before 9am. “I enjoy the walk before my day starts, it works really well,” he enthuses.
Today, Vishal takes a slight detour on the way into the office to check on a project in Shad Thames, a former Victorian warehouse district close to the firm’s office in London Bridge. He tries to do this at least once a week whilst the project is ongoing to ensure that the full roof refurbishment of the Grade II listed building is progressing as planned.
“Now I have moved up to Associate-level my role has changed quite a bit in the past year. Before I was more hands-on and involved in the drawings, now I am overseeing entire projects. I enjoy being on site, spotting an issue and being able to problem-solve and find a solution. I enjoy coming up with solutions because this means that I am continuously positively contributing towards something. This is a good feeling,” he explains enthusiastically.
Vishal carrying-out a site inspection
By the time Vishal has checked on everything at the site, his team are ready for him back in the office prepared for the first meeting of the day. “I have a high-level meeting with the team to ensure everyone is on track and deadlines are being met, which is then followed up with individual meetings. These are more in-depth and allow people to ask me questions they may not feel that they can in front of the whole team. We can really get into the detail and the nitty-gritty of the project during these individual meetings,” he explains.
Despite never seeing himself as a ‘people person’, Vishal has enjoyed working in a small team and helping to steer people towards a goal. “I have learnt that I enjoy teaching and acting as a mentor. Looking back, I feel that this was something missing for me on my learning journey, so now I feel that I am able to give something back to others so they will not be in the same position that I once was,” he adds keenly.
“I always encourage people to come to me with a solution in mind and to ask me questions, if the project is fast-paced, they may come to me with a problem straight away and we can then work to resolve it together,” elaborates Vishal.
Team meeting
Unique for an architectural firm, Lees Associates offer full measured building surveys. These provide the foundations on which proposed architectural drawings are built. “I act as the director of that arm of the business as we work to grow it into a standalone business,” explains Vishal. “I offered to investigate the opportunity when it was first mooted, and since then it has taken on a life of its own. Our USP is that we are architects that are passionate about, and have an in-depth knowledge of, buildings, so it made sense that we carry out these surveys ourselves.”
Following the morning’s meetings, Vishal goes to check on a survey team to ensure they know what they are doing. “We only get one shot at doing a survey,” says Vishal. “We have to ensure that everything gets captured perfectly on the day. What sets us apart from the majority of surveying firms is our architectural backgrounds, we understand buildings, we know what to expect, we have a wide field of vision of a project and we understand what difficulties there may be. We use our completed client briefing questionnaire, and we really think about what a client wants to achieve from their building, rather than just surveying what’s there with blinkers on. We can identify which areas need a more detailed survey and which areas need less so we can streamline the whole process for our client.”
Most surveys take one day on site so Vishal calls the team after lunch to ensure everything is going to plan and will visit at the end of the day to ensure the survey is complete.
At lunchtime Vishal runs an internal Continued Professional Development (CPD) training session for the team on Contract Administration. “We have started doing more and more of this in the office, so I wanted everyone to understand what the role entails, the rules and the potential pitfalls, and how to run the specialist software. I believe it’s important to share knowledge and share experiences and be open to people so they can ask questions.” This value of continuous learning and development is a core part of the culture at Lees Associates.
If Vishal isn’t running or attending a CPD he enjoys going for a walk at lunchtime and picking up his favourite sushi from Itsu.
In the afternoon, Vishal has a client meeting where he goes through the drawings with the client. “I enjoy meeting clients in person and talking them through where we are with their project. I then often go away and spend time on the architectural detailing; it is something I enjoy and is definitely a strength of mine.”
Vishal busy working on his latest project
If there is any time left in the day Vishal will be fitting in the Contract Administrator role for the projects he oversees, ensuring certificates are complete and the legal side of things are correct and as per the contract.
“After work, my wife may join me in London so that we can go out for dinner before heading home. I do enjoy sport and I particularly love football; I am a passionate Manchester United supporter. I am currently patiently sitting on a waiting list in the hope of getting a season ticket, but it is nearly impossible to get one! But I do get to go and watch them every now and then, which is great. If I get a chance to relax, I enjoy watching Game of Thrones or a documentary, but sometimes, I must admit, a bit of rubbish TV is great”, laughs Vishal.
“I can see myself growing at Lees Associates because I really enjoy my role here. I want to continue to build the surveying part of the business so that it becomes a business within a business. Maybe this is something I can learn from if I set up my own practice in the future,” he concludes.