ben frost B.A. (Hons), Dip. Arch.
Born 22nd March 1974, Bristol, UK.
Nationality British.
Immigration Status New Zealand Resident.
Telephone +64 2 1164 7171
Email architecture@benfrost.com
experience
Senior Technician.
Warren and Mahoney Architects, CHRISTCHURCH, NZ. March 2010 - Present.
Senior Architectural Technician.
Wilkie & Bruce Registered Architects Ltd., CHRISTCHURCH, NZ. July 2009 - March 2010.
Design development, building consent submission and tender/construction documentation production for school and commercial developments in Christchurch ranging from NZ$4M to NZ$10M.
Senior Architectural Technician (Self-Employed).
Contracted to Objectile Design & Architecture, CHRISTCHURCH, NZ. February 2009 - June 2009.
Design development, building consent submission and tender/construction documentation production for several high-end residential developments in Christchurch and Wanaka ranging from NZ$400K to NZ$3M.
Senior Architectural Technician (Self-Employed).
Contracted to West & Tritt Architects, CHRISTCHURCH, NZ. May 2005 - December 2008.
The beginning of over four years of architectural experience in New Zealand saw me working with West & Tritt on a range of residential and commercial projects, familiarising myself with the NZ building code and construction methods. My first job won the local ‘House of the Year’ award for house restoration over NZ$500K, as well as several kitchen and bathroom awards.
My work has ranged from the initial design of several large, high quality family dwellings to a variety of commercial design and office fit-out exercises, along with the subsequent building consent, tender and construction documentation for each. The projects have been located throughout the Marlborough region and Christchurch City with contract values between NZ$400K and NZ$10M.
Architectural Assistant & CAD/IT Management.
Bernard Engle Architects & Planners, LONDON, UK. July 2000 - August 2004.
Masterplanning/Town Centre Redevelopment
Part of a small team taking a GB£65M 290,000 sq. ft. retail-led, mixed-use town centre redevelopment competition win through design development and into a tender package for procurement within a short, tight programme.
Shopping Centre/Retail Fit-Out
Working on several projects, each around the value of GB£12M, involving the building and fitting out of retail units for a large, high-end UK department store. My role as team leader/project architect saw me overseeing all work stages from the schematics, design development, construction documentation to site and contract management. I was responsible for all aspects of the project including client, developer, consultant and statutory authority liaison, as well as in-house resourcing.
CAD/IT Support and Management
Running parallel to my project commitments I was also responsible for the day-to-day running of the CAD and IT systems: maintaining systems, servers and the network; shaping practice standards, procedures and CAD template files; chairing office CAD meetings; liaising with both Graphisoft UK and Head Office on a variety of technical support and implementation issues.
Trainee Architect.
Pope Priestley Associates, SOUTHAMPTON, UK. February – September 1996.
Working for a small practice whose busy and varied workload ranged in contract value from GB£15,000 to GB£2.5M. I was involved at all stages of project work from initial design and presentations; planning applications; and detail design and preparation of construction documentation.
education
Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture, RIBA Part 2.
The University of Portsmouth, School of Architecture. United Kingdom.
September 1996 – June 1997 & September 1999 – June 2000.
B.A. (Hons) Degree in Architecture, RIBA Part 1.
The University of Portsmouth, School of Architecture. United Kingdom.
October 1992 – July 1995.
GCE Advanced Level
The Blue School, Wells, Somerset, United Kingdom. September 1990 – June 1992.
Design (A), Mathematics (C), Physics (C), General Studies (C).
GCSE Level
The Blue School, Wells, Somerset, United Kingdom. September 1985 – June 1990.
9 GCSE’s at grades (A) and (B), including Mathematics and English.
skills
Creative, organised and enthusiastic.
Strong sense of design and the ability to interpret a design concept from masterplanning right through to the finest details. The ability to work well either individually or within a team environment, researching, solving problems and making decisions under pressure. Prioritising information and tasks in order to meet strict deadlines.
Building Information Modelling.
Over 16 years experience (versions 4.12 to 13.0) with the ArchiCAD 'Virtual Building' concept to a high level of competency. Modelling; Presentation; Production Information; Office Standards, Procedures & Templates; Teamwork; Collaboration through exchange file formats.
Long-standing relationship with Graphisoft including beta testing excellence and project validation for ArchiCADs 8.1 to 12, and new feature design consultation for ArchiCADs 10 and 11. Active member of the 'ArchiCAD-TALK' online community offering technical support to a global network of users.
Manual drafting, sketching and model-making.
Running parallel to BIM, CAD and the electronic presentations of todays architectural workplace I am always keen to continue manual drafting, model-making and sketching traditions. Life drawing with charcoals, pastels and watercolours has been a long standing passion.
Presentation software.
Google 'SketchUp!' and ‘Earth’; Abvent’s 'Artlantis R/Studio'; Adobe’s Creative Suite, including 'Photoshop’ and ‘Acrobat Professional'; Apple’s ‘Aperture’ and iLife ‘09 suite of photo, video, sound and web editing software.
Productivity software.
Microsoft’s Office Suite, Apple’s iWork ‘09 Suite, Adobe’s 'Acrobat Professional'. Fully competent with word processors with a 40+ wpm typing speed. Use of bespoke database software to control information processes, cost/time management and industrial machinery.
Systems & Servers.
A long history with Apple’s Macintosh operating systems: Mac OS7 to OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and OSX Server Editions. I have a good working knowledge of networking, communications, backup, maintenance and troubleshooting. I am also proficient with Microsoft’s Windows 2000, XP and Vista operating systems.
Drivers licenses.
Full, clean drivers licenses: UK, (since 1991); and NZ, (since 2008).
passions
Travel and the experience of other countries and cultures.
By far the greatest education so far. After my initial fifteen month OE in 1998/99 I returned to the UK knowing that I would one day take off around the world again. I have thus far travelled extensively throughout South East Asia, Australasia, and lived in Thailand, Sydney and now New Zealand.
Sport and outdoor activities.
Rugby, swimming, cycling, tramping and camping. Cycling is my preferred mode of transport! Since living in Christchurch I have also taken up both skiing and snowboarding and can be found on the slopes of Mt Hutt most weekends in the winter! I hold the PADI Open Water Diver qualification and have dived sites around the island of Koh Tao, Thailand and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
Literature, Music, Film and the Arts.
Books, art and exhibitions ranging from the classics to the contemporary; science fiction and cultural theory to philosophy. I have an enjoyment of movies as an extension of architecture: space, light and time!
Life drawing and Photography.
Running parallel to the CAD and electronic presentations of todays architectural workplace I am always keen to continue drawing and sketching the human nude with charcoals, pastels and watercolours. I am a keen photographer and have in the past enjoyed developing my own black and white films.
Experimentation and inquisition.
Teaching myself and experimenting with new skills, procedures and technology. Technology moves at such a fast pace - whether it be new products, materials or social interactions. I enjoy following this progress and looking at ways to introduce new technologies into day-to-day life.
other employment
On-line Music Sales & Promotion.
Future Prospects International/Chaos Multimedia Pty Ltd, Sydney. May – June 1999.
On assignment for FPI Recruitment at ChaosMusic, a busily expanding ‘dot com’ company dealing with the sales, promotion and release of both new and old music on the internet. My position initially combined customer service and office support roles, dealing with customer queries and complaints by telephone and e-mail, basic reception duties and collating and ensuring the speedy delivery of customer orders. I quickly became involved with the production of promotional and news material, assisting with its up-loading to the company website.
Hostel Manager.
Kangaroo Bakpak Holdings Pty Ltd, Sydney. October 1998 – June 1999.
Whilst working in Sydney, Australia, I became involved with the running of a backpackers hostel. Initially this involved the management of the hostel during the evening, handling large amounts of cash, dealing with customer enquiries, and rectifying immediate problems and issues with guests as they arose. Eventually I became the manager of a small group of four hostels in central Sydney and took on the responsibility of the day-to-day running of each; taking bookings and administering the books and banking sheets.
Office Support & Administration.
Future Prospects International/KPMG, Sydney. September – November 1998.
On assignment for FPI Recruitment at KPMG international accountants in Sydney, I was responsible for purchasing and distribution of office consumables for this large company. The position involved liaising at all levels with suppliers and internal departments, as well as invoicing and accounts payable. Whilst there I designed a spreadsheet to streamline and improve the departments distribution and invoicing procedures.
Customer Service Representative
Staffsign/Future Publishing Ltd, Somerton. February 1998 – May 1998.
On assignment for Staffsign recruitment agency in the busy Customer Service Department at Future Publishing Ltd, one of the biggest magazine publishers in the UK. My position involved dealing with customer records on their large bespoke database.
Bar Steward.
The Fownes Hotel Group, Wells. November 1997 – May 1998.
Working part time during the week and at week-ends serving a variety of food and drinks to the general public. My position involved bar maintenance, general upkeep, cash handling and stock control.
Production Operative.
Matthew Clark Brands PLC, Shepton Mallet. Periodically June 1992 – December 1997.
Working in small teams at a large national brewery. During the 3 – 6 month periods spent at the factory, the positions included; Fermentation Team Operative, responsible for the blending, fermenting, treatment and subsequent transfer of bulk cider ‘base’ liquids; Quality Control, responsible for the chemical analysis of cider at the various stages of construction, ensuring it met with the strict quality guidelines; and many other factory, warehouse and office support roles that required my ability to use large industrial machinery, handle chemicals safely and assure the quality of outgoing products.
references
Personal and Architectural references available on request.
