Architect

I'm an architect because I like seeing ideas come to fruition throughout the design process. It gives me satisfaction that the years of training and experience were worth it.

I design buildings of all different sizes, from small house extensions to airports. I’m contracted by clients to produce a design that meets their requirements and budget. We’ve also been doing some research into designing buildings which are deaf-specific.

I’m profoundly deaf from birth and communicate by lip-reading with the use of a cochlear implant. When I first qualified as an architect my boss said I couldn’t manage a project because I was unable to use the phone. Since then, the internet and technology have vastly helped my progress, and I now run my own practice. Group meetings, seminars and presentations were difficult in the early stages of my career, but nowadays in video, face-to-face group meetings or large presentations I use a speech-to-text captioner via my iPad to help me to understand what’s going on.

The key word I have for all deaf school leavers or graduates is perseverance. You’ll get there even though it may take longer than you originally thought. See the positives from every setback and move forward.

Ben Stephens

Spring 2023 Families magazine