How to kick start an architecture career? It’s one lengthy education. Big studios act as talent incubators, gathering up graduates, showing them the ropes and, occasionally, inspiring them to great things and a studio of their own. Five young firms of note, architects who’ve turned formative experiences into promising studios, reveal how they got started.

We brought together five you firms of note - architects who’ve turned formative experiences with leading architecture practices into promising studios - together at the V&A+RIBA Architecture Gallery in London, asking them to reveal how they got started. Pictured, from left: Tarek Merlin of Feix & Merlin; Ciriaco Castro of ESC-Studio; Kieran Gaffney of Konishi Gaffney; Silvia Polito of ESC-Studio; Gordon Affleck of 10 Design; Adrian Boot of 10 Design; Makiko Konishi of Konishi Gaffney; Stefano Dal Piva and Friedrich Ludewig of ACME. Read on for more from each practice...
Photograph by Daniel Stier