ADP continues to grow internationally; with major projects and opportunities in countries including Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, India and Azerbaijan, and with two established studios in Delhi, India and Nicosia, Cyprus. Last month as part of International Women’s Day, we sat down to interview two of our architects, Maria Oskina and Marina Georgieva, about their experience of international projects, studies and competitions.
Hi Maria, so tell me a little bit about yourself.
I am from a small town called Cherkasy not far from Kyiv and I decided I wanted to be an architect quite young. I’d been making art since childhood and at high school I attended art classes as well as architecture classes for three years before applying to university.
My mum was very instrumental in leading me into the profession and I studied at university in Ukraine on a full scholarship at a top ranking school, which was challenging to get, and I think I was quite lucky that I had decided early on what I wanted to do and had taken those classes so I knew what to expect of the course which was quite intense.
Ukraine is quite a traditional country so it used to be more a male dominated field but now it is quite usual for both women and men and my course at University was about fifty fifty.
How did you end up in London?
When I finished my bachelor’s degree in Ukraine I was accepted to a number of universities in the UK, however I continued my studies in Kyiv as I couldn’t afford to move abroad at that point and started to plan my relocation to the UK through work.
While doing my masters, the firm I was with in Kyiv was the local architect working with ADP on the Radisson Hotel, so I got to know the ADP directors and applied for a position in London and relocated here in 2022.
So, to the competition for the Norman Foster Foundation…
Yes, in our effort to contribute to the future of Ukrainian cities and communities, my team and I took part in this competition to reimagine the main square and regional administrative building in Kharkiv. The challenge was to transform one of Europe’s largest squares into a vibrant space for daily use while maintaining its flexibility to host large events.
A key aspect of the project was enhancing the connection between the square and the administrative building—currently separated by a highway—to create a welcoming and cohesive public space, drawing inspiration from examples like the Reichstag in Berlin. Our proposal envisioned the building as a semi-public space, with the entire concept symbolising prosperity and progress.
Key Design Strategies:
Square:
Building:
Although the project wasn’t shortlisted, it captured the competition’s spirit, showing how architecture can inspire hope and unity. And honestly, brainstorming, doodling, and debating ideas with fellow colleagues Neil Lister, Ethan Medd and Lily Ward was inspiring—even with the tight deadline!
Hi Marina, so tell me a little bit about yourself.
I’m from a small town in Bulgaria, about half an hour away from the seaside, where we all know each other. It’s nice and quiet that way, but there are not many opportunities to grow in your own way. As soon as I turned 18, I left the town and the country to pursue my dreams.
Plus, the fact that in Bulgaria there is only one school of architecture and entry is really geared towards the men. The culture there is still quite segregated. Boys are encouraged to take a maths-based route through school and girls, more literature and arts. The architecture school demands a heavy maths bias, making it difficult for women to go for due to the “almost defined” route through school. So, I applied elsewhere, in Germany, Denmark and the UK.
It’s very male dominated there, so if you’re female and you say you want to be an architect, it’s a bit like ‘what do you mean?’
So why the UK and ADP?
Well, I wanted to be a bit more fluent in English so the UK was my first choice but I didn’t want to run before I could walk so I applied for a foundation year in Art and Design in Coventry. Once that was complete, I started on my architectural education with my part 1 at Birmingham. It was only in my final year that I started finding myself as a person, as an architect, as a designer.
When I graduated, the struggle to find a job was insane, so I took work where I could. With contractors for two weeks, with engineers for two weeks, whatever I could find to get myself some kind of experience. I then started my Part 2 at Oxford Brookes and both studied and worked full time at a small company, doing mainly resi, which was great to learn from, but I wanted something bigger!
So, I joined ADP because it sat well with my values and with my vision for the joy of creating spaces and places for people. And to be honest, I wanted to explore the different sectors and ADP covered all of them. When I had my interview, I mentioned all this and ADP were happy to accommodate, but then it was quite funny because the first project I worked on was a resi project! However, it happened to be the project in Baku, which later on changed to a mix development anyway!
So that brings me to your focus on international work. How did that come about? Was it intentional?
No, not really. I think it was probably luck of being at the right place at the right time. But I soon realised that the international work is very fast paced and it’s a space where you can be creative and have quite an influence. The Baku project was at an early design stage and evolved quite a lot, very quickly. From a resi project to a commercial, including a hotel and some facade renovation on an existing building and in the end a mixed development. The client wanted something exciting, so I started just testing stuff in my own time. I ended up working closely with Stephen, and I felt comfortable approaching him with ideas to which he responded well and was incredibly supportive. Eventually, I guess we started bouncing ideas off each other, and realised we share similar approaches and principles in design. So, it kind of started like that. The project was high pressure, working with the Chinese visualisers who were on 24 hour shifts, bouncing ideas back and forth, but we hit our deadlines and the client was really happy. I learned a lot from Stephen, the client, the project, and the whole process really.
So, what was next?
After Baku started, in parallel there was the Goychay project, a resi project for the same client in a small town in Azerbaijan. Our team was working well, and the client was happy, so we developed this scheme. Then the Radisson Hotel in Kyiv needed a redesign of the front of house so I was working on that with the local architects, the client, the Radisson representatives, and the team at ADP. There were quite a few challenges with this one, to try and accommodate the client’s luxurious desire, whilst bringing Radisson on board with this and defend the scheme for their approval. Now, with the approval in line, we continue with the delivery and completion of the project.
In between these projects we also worked on the offices project in Kyiv, alongside local architects to deliver our scheme and the cladding is due to be installed in the coming weeks to complete the envelope of the building.
And what next for you?
I want to keep working on the international projects and for ADP to be a bit bigger out on the international side. I think it’s a different kind of experience and it’s a different kind of atmosphere and that’s why I’m passionate about it. You get exposed to different cultures, different people, different clients, and you learn that every project is different in its own way and the concept driving it is always project specific.
Because it’s creative, strong, and just a bit dreamy.
Written by:
Marketing and Comms Director
Vicky Fitton
