Clients

Clients are our bedfellows in the design process. Our most rewarding projects are those where we and our client share the same aspirations and are immersed in the design evolution.

We try to take our clients on a journey of mutual learning, research, and discovery, to enjoy with us the process of design, and to instil ownership of the outcome.

Context

Buildings have the ability to dramatically enrich their context and to respond to context in a respectful and sensitive way. Buildings must add value to their context.

We don’t make a move until we have gained an appreciation of the site and its context – geographical, historical, and cultural.

Urbanity

As cities densify, they become less hospitable. Public space can diminish. People can feel alienated. Inequality can increase. Design is capable of addressing most challenges, albeit not all, confronting cities.

We focus upon repairing past damage, making new connections, devising more equitable public realms, and improving the experience of all modes of movement.

Climate

We recognise climate change is the world’s greatest challenge and is largely caused by human intervention. Cities are major contributors to climate change, including as consumers of energy, and as heat sinks.

We are engaged with environmental research units that provide us with the technical knowledge to enable our buildings and spaces to genuinely perform and to create typologies that express their environmental systems.

Technology

Technologies are evolving and improving dynamically in spectrums ranging from urban modelling, to design processes, to new building materials. Architecture and technology have become inseparable.

Although it is impossible to follow everything emerging, technologies enable wider and wider design possibilities, our only caveat being to ensure cities and buildings put human experience first.

Art

The architectural movements of the last century (modernist/post-modernist)  all responded to the art movements of the time. This is no longer the case; then again, there are now no movements in art or architecture. But that should not mean artists and architects no longer benefit from each other.

We willingly engage with artists and designers who see spaces and surfaces from different perspectives than our own.

Craft

People only experience a particular part of a building at any moment. The composition of materials and details is critical to enhancing that experience.

We embrace the crafting of buildings and work with craftspeople in both design and fabrication to engender surprise and delight.