Location?

Our office is based in Brockley, South London. When the office was first set up we were in a small shop unit, when the practice got to 6 people and we had to take it in turns to either work in the office or from home we knew it was time to move! Now we are in a office space which is part of a larger development with lots of other creative companies adjacent. It also meant we had the opportunity to rent a smaller similar unit close by where we have a workshop and space to make physical models and building elements with our CNC machine and 3D printer.

When did the practice start?

Rhys set up the practice in 2000 and Emily joined in 2014.

How many staff?

At the moment there are 7 of us.

Company ethos?

Like most architectural practices we have a thing for concepts and ideas, we also love being on site and getting things built, but, possibly more unusual to some practices, we also really revel in the detail of how things are put together. If we could build it all ourselves we would, but then we’d have no time for the big ideas stage which would make us unhappy, so perhaps we are all about balance!

Current projects?

We have a some varied projects at the moment ranging from a series of house refurbishments and extensions, to Rhys’ own new build house for his family, multi-unit schemes, a tennis club pavilion and outdoor public installations in Lincolnshire to a RSPB reserve celebrating the memorial of the Pilgrim Fathers embarkation!

Like most architectural practices we have a thing for concepts and ideas, we also love being on site and getting things built, but, possibly more unusual to some practices, we also really revel in the detail of how things are put together.

As a practice you utilise multiple digital fabrication techniques, how have these techniques informed and changed your design process? 

The in-house production certainly has had a growing influence on our design process, more so the ability to quickly prototype designs and physically realise these to test and experiment. However also it is the speed and consistency of small-scale production that has led us to direct certain projects so that elements of those design can be done in-house, cheaply and effectively allowing clients with tight budgets to still be able to access unique bespoke design.

You work on a lot of intimate residential spaces and say that you aim to ‘create enveloping spaces that tell stories’, how do you nurture the relationship with your clients to craft this result?

We work conscientiously with our clients and spend time listening to them about the feeling or idea of the space they want to achieve. Once we’ve come up with some excellent ideas based on their thoughts and the site ,we consider the best way to demonstrate these, whether this is through drawings, visualisations, physical models or a mix of all of these techniques. It is really important to us that our clients are confident in what we suggest and buy-in to the vision, so we often spend a bit more time at this early design stage to work together on understanding and believing in the ideas. Once we’re onto the detail stages of the project things flow very easily as we know our clients very well by then and what they like and dislike, likewise they trust in our design suggestions by then, whether these are large or small. We really enjoy the dimension that clients bring to projects, and the clients become aware of this and engage more with the whole process, rather than leave it down to us. 

It is really important to us that our clients are confident in what we suggest and buy-in to the vision, so we often spend a bit more time at this early design stage to work together on understanding and believing in the ideas.

Favourite part of the studio?

Emily: I have a love-hate relationship with the samples library….

Rhys: The workshop and the model-making cutting mat, is definitely where I feel most comfortable, far and away from the laptop and admin barrage! It is where I can enjoy being creative and the mind can wander a little.

Favourite nearby coffee shop/pub?

We have designed a cocktail bar (L’Oculto) nearby to the office so we often frequent that for the cocktails and the added dimension of a wallow in our own design! For a daytime coffee we might go to a local Spanish coffee shop / tapas restaurant that we also designed, though a longer tapas and wine lunch visit is more usually the case.

Do you eat lunch together?

Every month we have a design review of a project where one of us will make lunch. The lunches are always delicious, it’s one of those unsaid combinations that most architects have an affinity for having and making good food. However, the lunch prep gets a bit OTT sometimes so we have to revert to downscaling to a sandwich delivery now and again to take a break!

Most played song/artist/musician in the studio?

Well there is an ongoing battle with people loving and hating Adele, so we often play some of her music just to get the emotions going!

Architect/Architectural style you look up to?

Rhys: Thats always a tricky question, likely too many to list! Our office output probably does have a developing style and aesthetic, but actively I try to be open-minded about the references and precedents I look at there is some value in most things if you look hard enough!

Emily: It changes day to day. Anything that looks minimal and abstract, but then again I also like the full-on Rocco, Gothic decorative architecture you get particularly in Italy.

Favourite building in London?

Emily: My home, but beyond that there’s just too many to be able to decide!

Rhys: While I haven’t visited for years, Soane’s house is very very special and as much for the collection of objects and curiosities as how it had been specifically designed to house them. For the same reasons I could probably spend hours walking around the Natural History and Science Museum just to soak up all the exhibits and models.

Favourite building you have designed?

Emily: I designed a hospital reception space and prayer room once. I spent ages getting the plan to work with the prayer rooms walls running East to West. I don’t think it was ever built. I really enjoyed the puzzle of the walls in plan, possibly it wouldn’t have been so good in real life so it’s better it lives on as a dream design in my head!

Rhys: It is difficult to look beyond my own house really (Pitched Black). It’s often said that for an architect building your own house is the ‘ultimate’ project, but I think it has been the ability to have fun, test and experiment that has been most enjoyable. Costs are always a limiting factor, but thinking about my kids as the client has definitely loosened the design strings.