'Don't be afraid to make mistakes'

The Pathways Project:?In 2023 we are looking at the career pathways members of the Inhabit team have taken within our industry and their advice to those starting out on their careers. This week we chatted to a colleague who has experienced a diverse spectrum of the fa?ade industry.?

Felicity Shallcross,

Senior Remedial Fa?ade Consultant, Perth, Australia

Running her own fa?ade design company taught Felicity Shallcross a valuable lesson. “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – that’s how we learn,” she says.

In a career that has spanned the world from Australia to London, Hong Kong and Jakarta and back to Australia, Felicity says her career in fa?ades was purely an accident. She grew up in Melbourne, and moved to Perth where she completed a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Western Australia and registered as an architect in Western Australia.

It was in the middle of a recession, so Felicity left the country. “I didn't come back for 14 years. I first worked in London and then spent 10 years in Hong Kong including 6 months in Jakarta working in fa?ades. In Hong Kong I worked on the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and on the Hong Kong Airport. I was on site for about four years - both these buildings had curved roofs with multiple different wall systems and I learned a lot, especially about what not to do,” Felicity says.

In 2000 Felicity moved to Sydney, so her young family could enjoy proximity to family and the Aussie lifestyle. She spent two years in Sydney before taking the family west back to Perth. There she started her own fa?ade company. “I ran it for three years but with two young children it was a constant juggle and, in the end, I decided it was way too hard. That also taught me that it is ok to not succeed all the time. Sometimes things don’t work out, but it doesn’t mean you are a failure,” Felicity says.

Having worked for Arup, Aurecon and Arcadis and run a small company Felicity had experienced a diverse spectrum of the fa?ade industry. In 2012 she made a total career change: “I decided to follow a deep calling and work as a hospital chaplain. I loved working with people during times of challenge and tragedy. Being able to listen was a most valuable skill. I worked in four different hospitals over six years, and found it a privilege to be with people when they were focusing on what is most important in their life. Sometimes that just meant they wished to be able to sit in their back garden in the sun with their loved ones and a cup of tea watching nature. Simple pleasures,“ Felicity says.

Five years ago she made the decision to move back into the fa?ade industry and took up a role with Inhabit in the Perth team as a remedial fa?ade consultant. “I think it is important to give care and attention to the sustainability of our existing building stock. It’s very satisfying knowing that buildings are safe thanks to remedial diagnostics and intervention.”

Felicity’s advice to graduates: “Work in fa?ades. At uni I didn’t imagine that I would work solely on the outside of buildings, however, I have discovered that it can be very fulfilling.”