Three Minute Interview…Andrew Cottage

Brief introduction, name, job title, location.

I am Andy Cottage, I’m a Senior Associate with Liz Lake Associates and I lead our Nottingham office.

When you were at school what did you want to be and why?

When I was at school the plan was to become a Zoo Vet and then to take over from David Attenborough when he hung up his boots. Luckily, I chose a different career path because he’s still going (and thank goodness for that!).

How did you get to be where you are today?

I studied Landscape Architecture at Thames Polytechnic (now Greenwich University) under Tom Turner. Geoffrey Jellicoe visited from time to time and I loved my time there. As part of the course we spent three weeks in Lisbon working with our Portuguese equivalents. We visited many quintas and I developed a love for the agrarian landscape – beauty and edibleness in one place – what could be more satisfying?!

What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most, and why?

I enjoy the fact that every day is different. As part of my drive to develop a diverse client base I do lots of networking and I enjoy meeting new people and finding innovative ways of working together. I like to make the most out of any project and will seek out opportunities that maybe others would miss. I also like to give colleagues opportunities so that they can grow and develop to their fullest potential.

What is your proudest achievement?

I am proud of many things. Establishing a new office in Nottingham and seeing it grow; winning awards for projects that I have been a part of; seeing people enjoying one of our projects; seeing the benefits that great schemes can deliver to communities……………… the list goes on and on.

What is the best advice you’ve been given in life?

Give it your best shot – what’s the worst that could happen?

What is your next adventure / goal?

The next goal is to make sure that the Nottingham office is stable and secure (do I sound like Theresa May?!). To do this we have taken on some great talent and will continue to keep our clients satisfied by delivering really good work.