Growing up in London, I was always surrounded by tall buildings and iconic architectural pieces. I was just another city boy for whom these structural marvels were not very special—I passed by them every day and didn’t think twice about them.

In my 20s, however, I was suddenly struck by the actual magnitude of the construction industry. The immense manpower and money that a single building required to be built from scratch was truly astonishing. I started researching about famous buildings around the world and came across so many wonderful ones—The Burj Al Arab in Dubai being a wonderful example. These were the buildings of the future. The more I read, the more it pulled me in.

As I was still pursuing my bachelor’s degree in arts, I had the time to ponder over whether I really wanted to become an architect instead. I sat with my mentor first, and then with my dad. Both seemed enthusiastic about it, and so was I, so we decided that I would go ahead and do it. Long story short, a couple years of hard work, sleepless nights, hundreds of structural drawings, blueprints, and many internships later…I was officially an architect.

Currently, I work mostly as a consultant for architecture firms. I also work on my own designs on the side, and I’m trying to start a company of my own.