We are thrilled to welcome Benjamin Pitman to S9 as our latest Senior Associate.
Spending most of his professional career living and working on the eastern seaboard, Ben has over two decades of experience at leading practices Jackson Clements Burrows Architects (JCBA), BVN and SJB Architects.
As a national award-winning Architect, Ben has been instrumental in delivering a broad range of projects across Australia in the multi-residential, residential, commercial, education, public, defence and workplace sectors.
Originally from Adelaide, Ben studied at The University of Adelaide, excelling in his studies, and finishing top of his class.
“From a young age, I was always interested in architecture. I had a natural drawing ability, and my maths books were always full of sketches, not math. Once I started my formal studies at university, I found that it was something I was good at. I became a very focused and motivated student and made the decision to move to Melbourne after graduation to begin my architectural career”.
Seeking out a position at the then ‘new kids on the block’ JCBA, Ben experienced the studio in its infancy, growing from 5 to 25 employees during his first eight years and becoming the practice’s first Associate.
Wanting to push himself further, Ben was eager to gain big practice experience and made the move to Brisbane to work at national firm BVN. “There were around 400 staff nationally at BVN at that point. They were a very organised and innovative practice with great leadership. As only my second job in the industry, it was a very eye-opening and beneficial experience”.
Following stints at BVN Melbourne and SJB, Ben brought his national experience back to JCBA as Associate Director in a lead design role where he helped to grow the business to around 100 employees delivering industry-recognised projects.
Recently relocating back to Adelaide, Ben delivered several small-scale commissions for private clients before deciding it was time to return to a collaborative team environment. S9’s broad nature of project work and cross-disciplinary approach appealed to his skillset and what he was looking for in a studio to make a positive contribution.
“After meeting the practice’s leadership group, joining S9 seemed like a natural fit both personally and for my career. I shared their vision for the direction of the practice and felt I could be a useful contributor to the journey.”
Ben brings a wealth of industry experience at both leadership and architectural levels to the Adelaide studio. His level-headed, methodical and well-considered approach to critical thinking will play a key role in strengthening the practice across multiple sectors.
Leveraging his strengths in leadership, Ben is also eager to be involved in the business side of the studio and is passionate about providing education and mentorship to the next generation of designers.
We are delighted to have Ben on board with us at S9 — welcome to the team.
