Zak Akhtar: “I wanted to be an Electrician but with my love of DT, I decided to go down the architecture route.”
Zak hails from Cardiff which according to research was once the richest city in the world. Now that is just one amongst the many interesting facts you can find about this extraordinary place. Do you know that it’s also a city of castles? No wonder Zak adores his hometown so much; it’s a beautiful historical city with lovely listed buildings of architectural note. The Cardiff City Hall is one of his favourites which opened in October 1906. It cost £129,708 to build – that’s a whopping £10,191,092 in today’s money!
What are you working on now?
Eco Lodge – Ashcombe Estate, the folding cabin. It’s a project for a client where I work on the technical details, bringing the designs to life, and solving the technical issues we encounter. I really enjoy working on this project especially because I am mainly responsible for problem-solving.
What do you love about architecture?
I’m very practical and enjoy that part of architecture. I like making things, my favourite subject at school was Design Technology. I wanted to be an Electrician but with my love of DT, I decided to go down the architecture route.
What’s your favourite building?
Cayan Tower – I call it the twisty building. It’s also known as the Infinity Tower, a 75-story skyscraper in Dubai. The tower was designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill SOM architectural group, the same group that did the concept design for the Burj Khalifa and Trump Tower in Chicago. It became the world’s tallest high-rise building with a twist of 90 degrees but has since been surpassed by the Shanghai Tower, two years later.
What’s the best project you have worked on?
The Barn in Guildford – we converted an old barn into 3 dwellings. I was project lead on this from start to finish and saw the project through to the end. So it was quite an experience for me.
Name
Zak Akhtar
Where are you from
Cardiff, Wales
Favourite Country
Turkey
Best City
Istanbul
Favourite Music
House Music – Deep house
What are you reading?
Non-fiction
What are you watching?
Money Heist, Grand Designs, The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes, F1
Favourite Movie
American Gangster
Favourite Pastime
Cycling, travelling
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