What inspired you to become an architect?
I have always loved that moment when there is nothing tangible, just the latent potential of a blank page, before the first words and images emerge. I was the first person in my family to stay on at school after 16, and growing up in the still bomb-scarred Manchester I was fascinated by the rebuilding of the city around me. I would travel from 14 years on the boat to Europe every chance I got, meeting radically different places, people, cultures and knew that I wanted to get out and participate in the whole world. Architecture provided the path to explore this- supported by my teachers but disappointing my parents.
How would you describe your design philosophy?
Everything begins and ends with people. Our work impacts the whole of society. I am acutely aware of the power of our built environment, the architect’s roles and responsibility to society, and the lack of agency and unseen societal barriers for most people who interface with it. I would like to say that I bring a sense of responsibility, rigor, joy, and passion to everything I do, and in design, it is bringing everything back to the human experience- active empathy, acting out the interface of everyone with the work- and leaving a positive legacy. In design, I thrive on the interchange of ideas and love when a team is humming with diverse ideas, pushing each other, and relishing the challenge- a kind of euphoria of creativity when we create something together that we couldn’t have done apart. I believe that everything has value- and begin each project by retaining everything. This goes beyond the embodied carbon, but the stories and memories of a place, the actions of people who have built and experienced the spaces.
You’ve described a design approach that values the ‘worm-eye view,’ focusing on the ground-level experience of individuals. How has this philosophy influenced your major projects like airports and urban planning initiatives?
Architectural models and glossy images detach us from the lived experience. The God-like birds-eye view contemplating a design puts undue focus on the roof and cladding and are part of the cult of the icon. I believe if we start and succeed with the ground plane, the base or first couple of floors, and the interior spaces you will have a successful project. The expression above can be simple, elegant, beautiful-by clear purposeful response to the environment, the internal functions, construction, and its role in the skyline but never at the expense of the human experience.
Can you tell us about your favorite project and why it stands out?
Meadowbank Schools K-12, Sydney, Australia A new public school for 2,700 students in a deprived area of Sydney. Choosing a favorite project is a cruel question, but this project fulfilled a dream to lead a team in making an inclusive public school, infused with joy and care, where there is a place for everyone. The final design was recognized by my peers with the awards for Best School in the World and Best Use of Color in any Building at the World Architecture Festival. A school is an investment in the future of a community. We began by spending time both in schools with teachers and students, and with the government to understand their investment plans and the country’s demographics. This made us realize how the regulations and standards inhibited education, and the buildings that were being built were unable to adapt to either changing pedagogy, construction cost, or climate. We put forward an alternate teaching module based on the school community’s needs that was scalable from a single classroom to a new school and could be built using off-site construction employing the materials from the immediate local areas. This was evolved in partnership with Government, Unions, and the construction industry to create new standards and guidelines- a model for future schools. At the heart of this project- and every project- is the sense of joy. I am a believer that one can immediately sense if a project was conceived and developed with joy and empathy for all the potential end-users- or not. Nowhere is this more important than in the buildings for the most vulnerable and with the least agency in our society: children.
With a career that spans projects in cities like London, Berlin, and Sydney, what are some of the universal architectural challenges you face, and how do your solutions differ based on local context?
It is always humbling to be able to work in a different city, and exciting and challenging. As an outsider I am empowered to ask questions- but this comes with a responsibility to listen and observe. To understand a city or a site, you need to spend time in situ to understand the rituals of each place, how climate and culture determine the way people move and occupy space, and how regulations, local construction methods, materials, and environment shape the urban environment. Like everyone, I bring my baggage formed by my own experiences to a project, but early on I learned that this shouldn’t be denied and was a selling point because any design solution will be different and reflect that experience. This is replicated at a macro level working in your hometown, listening, and engaging with local communities and stakeholders. In many cities, an unfamiliar district may be as alien as another country. My peers question my love for neighborhood consultation, but these are unique opportunities to understand how places work and by being open one will strike gold that unlocks better solutions.
What is your favorite architectural detail?
The whole of St John Soane’s House in London- this is an architectural wonderland of inspiration for every architect.
Do you have a favorite material?
Ceramic, in all its forms inside and outside, from complex three-dimensional to flat tiles. I love the whole essential alchemy of the process, from the earth and clay, the mixing and application of glazes, the heat of the oven, and then the result, transformed and bearing no visual relationship to what went in. As a material it gets better with age, reacting with pollution to deepen the glaze. It is tactile, inviting the hand, and changes character with shifting clouds, reflections of the environment, day to night. I studied ceramics and have made way too many pots, bowls, and plates to understand and participate with the craftspeople and artists who make them.
What is your process for starting a new project?
Visit the site and spend as much time there as possible, at different times of day and week. Take photos, yes, but sketch to really observe, write down your impressions and gut reactions. Draw out maps and plans to understand the quirks and rhythms of a place. As a team try to go at different times so your reactions are yours, and not influenced by your colleagues. Read everything you can about a place- historical, social, political, novels- to understand why a place is how it is today- and what we can learn from the past for the future. Talk, ask questions and listen to as many people- clients, end users, community- as to understand the brief and the opportunity. Produce as many ideas and alternates as you can, debate, argue, and evolve with all your team. When an idea emerges as preferred, then that is a new starting point for interrogation and development. Enjoy and embrace the uncertainty for as long as you can.
How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs?
The two support each other- understanding how things are made informs the process. I think that may be why architects often say that only after 40 do they feel they have completed their apprenticeship, and are able to fully embrace the two.
What role does the surrounding environment play in your architectural projects?
It is everything- social, environmental, political, economic.
How do you approach working with clients to understand their needs and visions?
Listen, observe, research, and ask beautiful questions. Many clients- and people in general- find it hard to articulate what they want, rather what they have already had. As architects, we by definition have to live in the future, or we become irrelevant. My approach is to work with clients to understand and anticipate their future needs, as their current needs will already be the past when the project is completed. I have built strong repeat relationships with clients because, with a knowledge of them, we can both grow and challenge each other- like any successful long-term relationship. The best compliment I have had from one of the world’s biggest developers is that I give them solutions that are seemingly simple but unexpected and obvious, that give them exactly what they need and didn’t know they wanted.
What architectural/design trends or movements do you find most inspiring?
I began my career in Germany where sustainable design was just what you did. Careful use of materials, retention, and reuse of buildings, access to daylight and fresh air, and minimizing energy usage were elements of responsible design. The current rise and mainstreaming of sustainable design and adaptive reuse make both happy and feel like the tailor of the emperor’s new clothes- an imposter. In Europe, every project is adaptive reuse, and the cities derive much of their character from the layers of different times and uses. In an alternate universe, we would never build another new building, but reuse and reimagine the wealth of existing buildings. Any new structures would be designed to either evolve in place, be easily movable top a new location, or be dissembled for another use. This world is coming.
Can you discuss a project or experience that was particularly challenging or significant in your career, and what key lessons did you learn from it that you apply in your work today?
Reichstag, new German Parliament in Berlin, while at Foster and Partners. Innovation and testing: Never be afraid to innovate and question. Every project is an opportunity to further collective knowledge. We were constantly researching and questioning our work, workshopping with engineers and scientists to develop new solutions. Some worked, some didn’t- but all fed into a future successful solution. Adaptive reuse: Embrace and celebrate the inconsistency- collaborate with the existing building. Any attempt to fight will fail.
The richness of stories and memories, good and bad, form part of a building’s and thus own history.
