Chithra Marsh

Manchester

Chithra Marsh is an architect and a Director at Manchester-based B-Corp practice, Buttress.

She is a champion of inclusivity and diversity in the industry, leads on social value initiatives at Buttress, is the former National Chair of Women in Property, RIBA National Council representative for the North West and is a strategic ambassador for social enterprise PLACED.

Early in our chat, the conversation flowed around people’s stories. Chithra would become animated talking about projects where community and human impact shone through. Discussing projects where success was measured on usability and connection and not on shiny awards. “We create spaces that empower people and help them live their best lives. And the only way we can do that successfully is to listen.”

Chithra finished Polytechnic back in “19 … Cough, cough”, she smiled and said, “Back then when I studied at Polytechnic, architecture was all about buildings, scale, materials, the conversation about people hadn’t really started. I spent the first 20 or so years wondering if I was in the right career.”

One of the projects that sparked a newfound love for architecture was, what she described as, “The smallest budget, with the biggest impact.” It wouldn’t have won any architectural awards but it filled Chithra and the team with a huge amount of pride and satisfaction.

The Maryport Town Hall project was a relatively tiny project that has had a continued ripple effect. The subtle changes made on the ground floor opened and brightened up a previously inaccessible area, creating flexible working space, adding a place to grab a coffee and also a community base for police officers. Chithra recalled speaking to a police officer after completion, “He said that the space meant it was the first time they could have a positive police presence in Maryport, for what seems like decades.”

This is a great example of how changing a few things on a relatively small budget can transform a space, open it up to new people and completely change the feel. Chithra said, “You can make a huge difference to how a place feels by listening and truly understanding the potential of how people could use the space.”

The Town Hall was the catalyst for lots of other projects in Maryport, shopfront design guides, a conversion of a cinema into a community hub, a church into a maritime museum, and upgrading a promenade to increase footfall and activity on the seafront and harbour. “These are all tiny community projects that can make a huge difference to people’s lives and will be successful because our team have taken collective action with the local authority to create a space to ensure people can be heard.”

The subtleties of place feel are so vast, but it’s quite clear for Chithra, the key lies clearly with people. Before any designs are curated, or any ideas suggested, the power lies in just listening and understanding. “I may not have been the most confident designer or I may have felt a bit miserable sitting there drawing details on a computer. But if you put me in a room with people, I absolutely love it. Working at Buttress has been the first time in a while that I can just be the architect I want to be. And that has ended up focussing solely on giving a voice to the people who will inhabit the space and my team who will deliver the project.”