After being made redundant three times in three years, Paul Testa built a resilient practice called HEM Architects and reveals why the business model of architecture might be fundamentally broken.

In this episode of The Broke Architect Podcast, I speak with Paul Testa, co-owner of HEM Architects, about the realities of building a sustainable architecture practice in the UK.

After being made redundant three times in three years, Paul was pushed into starting his own practice. Fifteen years later, HEM has grown into a 15-person studio built around systems, transparency, and resilience. Paul also co-owns JAM Structures, a three-person engineering firm that generates the same profit as HEM. raising serious questions about how architecture businesses operate.

We discuss open-book management, stopping free optioneering, the challenges of working in one of the UK’s poorest regions, and why running an architecture practice is still bloody tough, but worth it!

A candid conversation about the business of architecture and what it really takes to survive.

Welcome to Season 5 of The Broke Architect Podcast , where we challenge convention and ask uncomfortable questions about how we design, build, and power the world around us.

In this episode, Jason Boyle is joined by Dr Tim Gregory, nuclear chemist and author of Going Nuclear, for a clear-eyed conversation about energy, climate change, and the realities behind Net Zero.

We’ve electrified buildings, debated gas bans, and filled landscapes with wind turbines, yet the UK hasn’t built a new nuclear reactor in over 30 years. So where is our electricity actually coming from, and is our current strategy sustainable?

• Why nuclear power fell out of favour in the UK

• Whether Net Zero is achievable without nuclear

• The limits of wind, solar, and energy storage

• The future role of gas in a low-carbon system

• Why symbolism often replaces systems thinking in sustainability

This is a grown-up conversation about energy — not ideology.

Links to Tim’s book Going Nuclear : https://www.tim-gregory.co.uk/goingnuclear

This is the FINAL show of season 4!

Today on the show, we’re joined by Helen Maunder's who was on Episode 1 of season 4. Helen had hit rock bottom 12 months ago but she is a fighter and I asked her to return to complete season 4 as she has been on a journey in the past 12 months. Please listen to understand her struggles and successes in this RAW and emotional episode.

Helen Maunders is the founder of Grafeso⁠, an architects' practice based in Barnet, London. Helen has been in business as a sole practice owner for 14 years and has ADHD. She is a cancer survivor and has struggled with her mental health and yet, she is still fighting. This episode is emotionally charged and Helen is very open and honest about what it is like to be an architect. We cover planning and frustrations and how to stop doing doing work for FREE!

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