Morgan completed a Masters of Architecture at Victoria University and now works in London for an architecture firm specialising in high-end private residential homes called Marek Wojciechowski Architects. He has been enjoying the travel opportunities offered by living in one of Europe’s most accessible cities. 

As Morgan relates, “I have been in London since 2019 and I am still very much enjoying London life and the opportunities a big city presents, even during the pandemic. Thankfully our industry has seen a rise throughout this crisis with more people wanting to invest in a better way of living in regards to their home, especially if presented with working remotely. Travel has been one of my biggest inspirations for my work while I’ve been over here and managing to get to so many places around Europe and so easily has been instrumental to my work. When I see a building I like on Instagram or Dezeen I could book a flight and go see it that weekend, it’s so easy but so important to me. Flip side of that is you do miss New Zealand and home a lot, not being able to come home this Christmas or to enjoy a bit of Hawkes Bay sun saddens me a bit when the sun sets at 4pm here and it’s cold and wet.  

My next plans after London are to move to Copenhagen or Stockholm to work in an architecture studio there and gain some Nordic style experience and enjoy their way of life for a while. And then after that I’ll have to wait and see...” 

Morgan went straight into a Bachelor of Architecture studies at Victoria University when he left school and found that he loved this course of study so he decided to do a Masters of Architecture and completed this in February 2019. 

Morgan recalls his early working experience in the profession and how this has influenced him, “Every summer and winter holiday since 2015 I worked as an Architectural Student at well-known Hawke's Bay firm, Paris Magdalinos Architects. This was so beneficial for my skills in the working world as well as opening my eyes up to what I wanted to focus on at university and helping those skills immensely. I also worked part time for Nott Architects and Gas Project delivering a range of hospitality focused projects for clients down in Wellington.” 

Morgan was drawn to architecture throughout his time at Lindisfarne and enjoyed the cross-discipline connection between subjects like Art Design and Accounting that architecture offered. Architecture has been able to satisfy both his creative side and his interest in precision. Morgan also considers that the subjects he studied at school have supported his architecture studies: “Art Design helped in knowing Adobe Suite, presentation skills, visual communication and creativity. Graphics helped with an understanding of drawing conventions, and an intro into architecture as well. English will help with everything - there is nothing worse than an architect who cannot spell or write a cohesive sentence. It'll also help with setting up a narrative or story within your architecture. Physics is handy because it gives you an extra step up before learning an intro into engineering and structures of buildings. Accounting I just enjoyed as a subject but I can see it helping me with understanding numbers especially when it comes to running calculations for clients and developers for profit etc.” 

The teachers at Lindisfarne also had a big impact on Morgan, “The teachers are one of the best parts about Lindisfarne, they really do become your friends towards the end of your schooling and they are so devoted to you and bettering your skills, it really is one of the highlights for me. And now most of us remain friends even years on and keep in contact. Even the fact that so many of them have been there for years and are still teaching there shows that they are passionate and it is no longer simply a job for them.”  

Morgan particularly recalls the influence of Barry Musson and remembers that he was one of the funniest teachers in the school. In spite of the classroom laughter, Barry still helped the boys grow as young men and learn different perspectives on things. Another important figure in Morgan’s life has been Nic Magdalinos and it was in his honour that Morgan ran his first marathon this year, “He was my friend and mentor, he always wanted me to do the best I could at university and he would help with that in any way he could so I felt proud to represent his memory and run in the Hawkes Bay Marathon that was his first marathon too.” 

Outside the classroom, mountain-biking in summer and soccer and skiing for the college team took up most of Morgan’s time but he still managed to pick up some fundamental values and skills along the way, “As well as learning skills such as innovation, creativity and persistence, I think the biggest values that I learnt were the ones I now use every day  - simple things like communicating with people, shaking people’s hands, eye contact and following through on promises. Being courageous but humble, humble in defeat and victory, being a courteous citizen in public. Also one of the biggest life lessons I learnt while I was at college and now use every day is balance, living a balanced life between work, study, hobbies, sport, relationships - I think balance is the most important value.” 

The advice that Morgan would give to today’s students is to, “Really enjoy everything in that last year and embrace the relationships you have with the teachers and staff, build foundations that will last forever! Your friends and other students in your year and also other years will always look out for each other and be there to help each other later on too, I still flat with boys from college and now tutor younger students and always have more time for them.”