Paul is a Chartered Architect with over 20 years of construction industry experience. Paul graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2003 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree and previously graduated in 2000 with a BA Honours in Architectural Studies. His interests in university were in the design of theatres initially, and then television and broadcasting facilities. This appeal was largely due to the combination of art and science, together with complex user and technical requirements.

After his studies, Paul returned to Belfast to gain his professional practice exam at Queen’s University Belfast whilst working at Kennedy Fitzgerald & Associates, and became a chartered architect in 2005. His experience was varied from leisure centres, hotels, commercial and retail buildings. In 2010 he relocated to London and worked on flagship retail, and industrial-scale projects.

Since then, he has worked on aviation, civic, residential and community buildings. He has experience of all project stages with a focus on the technical stages of projects through to leading teams and delivery on site, including projects in Southeast England, London, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. More recently, projects were designed and developed using Building Information Modelling (BIM), carrying out design coordination with other disciplines using this software. Paul has also worked as a client representative, as Project Manager, gaining an NEC Project Manager’s accreditation, working for the Education Authority in Northern Ireland. There he assisted with the delivery of schools and managed integrated consultant teams.

Paul is registered with the Architect’s Registration Board (ARB) and has been a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) since 2005. In 2021, due to working on projects that were in the Republic of Ireland, Paul became a member of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI).

Paul joined Hawkins in October 2024 to become the newest member of the Belfast team.