Archibald ‘Archie’ Pembroke

Fifteen questions, off-duty.

Role on the line

Lighting and atmosphere. Dawn-to-dusk passes, time-of-day variations, the verified-view exposure that the planner can actually see at committee.

Where I grew up

Handsworth, Birmingham. Red-brick terraces, blue ska on a Friday, rain on every Saturday football pitch.

Training

Game art at Birmingham City University, then four years at a Rockstar Games studio lighting London street scenes for an unreleased project before I switched to architectural CGI.

Years on the line

Eight. Four in games, four in CGI.

The blade I bring

Time-of-day discipline. Pick the hour, commit to the sun angle, stop arguing with yourself by ten.

Architect I would ride out for

Sir David Adjaye, for the cuts of light he gets through narrow openings.

Light that reads true on screen

A 0.35 zenith sun for a London February afternoon, an HDR with a real cloud edge, a window glow that respects what is on inside the room.

Software I cannot lose

Corona Sun, V-Ray Sun, and a Met Office app open for the date the client wants.

Earliest architectural memory

The Selfridges Bullring façade in Birmingham, which my dad called "the dragon's belly". I still think he was right.

The brief I am proudest of

A Kensington verified-view set across four times of day, all four accepted at first submission.

On the headphones while working

Bashment for the build, Bob Marley for the grade, John Coltrane when the deadline is doing nothing helpful.

London view I never tire of

The Westway at dusk from the Trellick Tower side. Brutalism plus sodium light is a tune.

Coffee or tea

Cardamom coffee in the morning, sorrel after church on Sunday.

Off the line

Five-a-side on Saturday morning in Hackney Marshes, then jerk chicken on Lower Marsh.

The motto on my desk

"Pick the hour first. Light is a deadline, not a setting."