Meet the team – Roxana Cercelaru
Our Senior Architectural Liaison Technician, Roxana Cercelaru, is not only a driving force in our continued collaboration and position within the UK architectural landscape, but also an incredibly skilled team leader, CPD Coordinator and Architectural Technician. But did you know that Roxana is also a published photographer, talented cook and originally from Hunedoara, Transylvania? Read on to find out more about another one of our interesting team members.
An architectural journey
Now an honorary Glaswegian, it’s hard to believe that Roxana isn’t originally from Scotland. Her architectural journey began in 2012, when she moved from Romania to Glasgow to study Architecture at the Glasgow School of Art. However, realising that her skills leaned more on the technical side of the practice, she decided to pursue Architectural Technology at Glasgow City College instead.
It was from this qualification that Roxana began her career at Russwood in 2020 as an Architectural Liaison Technician. Roxana’s technical expertise, initiative, dedication and outgoing personality have led her to her current role as Senior Architectural Liaison Technician and CPD Coordinator.
When asked about her professional vigour, Roxana said that she is motivated by “Projects which are on the cusp of impossible, situations when architectural clients are determined to use timber, but the project needs deep problem solving to specify the correct product and detailing to meet the performance and aesthetic requirements.”
Romanian origins
Roxana’s upbringing in the beautiful city of Hunedoara, Transylvania is at the core of her personality. Having left Romania at a young age, Roxana now enjoys going back home at least once a year to visit family, experience being back in her home town, and explore other parts of Romania that she hasn’t been to before. During her next visit, Roxana plans to visit the Danube Delta, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Tulcea County, where the Danube River and the Black Sea meet.
Perhaps also due to flying the nest early, Roxana has developed a deep interest in travelling and experiencing other parts of the world. Roxana’s ‘Out of office’ is preferred spent enjoying other continents with family, with her last big trip being to Egypt in April 2022 (pictured below). This year, she visited Bulgaria in May and is visiting New Orleans in October.
A published photographer
With her work recently being selected to feature in ZATK Zine, photography is one of Roxana’s other skills. Shooting everything from architecture to street photography on 35mm film, she has a developed eye for framing and lighting stunning images. When talking about her photography, Roxana said that she “Loves to find interesting little corners of the world, with texture or something else special.”
On the right is Roxana’s image featured in ZATK Zine, depicting pigeons swarming over Virginia Street, Glasgow. She named the image ‘Hitchcock on Virginia Street’ after film director Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’.
A seasoned cook
Perhaps led by her understanding of structure, texture and design, Roxana is also a proficient cook. From traditional Romanian dishes such as Sarmale,(Romanian cabbage rolls) to seafood paellas,(pictured on the left), she often begins the week on Monday by telling our Glasgow team what new recipes she cooked over the weekend and who it was enjoyed by.
Recently, Roxana’s cooking expertise has been extended to baking, and the Glasgow office have been treated to many tasty ‘test’ batches of cakes. Keep up the testing, Rox!
A bright future
Along with being our Senior Architectural Liaison Technician, Roxana leads our CPD programme, as well as attending key architectural events throughout the year. Roxana delivers in-person CPD seminars to architectural practices all over the UK, as well as CPD webinars on a monthly basis with another one of our Architectural Liaison Technicians, Charlotte Wark. Roxana’s CPDs have proven to be exceptionally engaging and beneficial to the practices who attend, as timber continues to grow in its use within the UK architectural environment. Completing TFT Wood Experts level 4 qualification last year, Roxana’s knowledge of timber science and architectural expertise set her up for a bright future in this space.
We are always keen to hear from people who are interested in working at Russwood both in our yard and office teams. Available positions and details of how to apply speculatively can be found on our careers page.