In architecture it’s not enough to envisage a building from the outside – you have to know how it will feel to stand inside. It’s not enough to see: one has to hear, touch and smell, and not just from this angle but from all angles, and not just from your point of view, but hers and his and theirs. You have to know how it fits into the fabric of its surroundings, understand its role in the landscape and vice versa. If buildings and places are to be loved and appreciated by all who stand before them; if they are to draw people to and through them, engaged and galvanised, not once but again and again, then one has to understand and answer diverse and often conflicting needs. And that needs thought.
Thought. For us this means the ability to hold in the mind, simultaneously, needs from the furthest ends of the spectrum – from the budget to the aesthetics, from form through function, past to future, high technology to simple communication – to understand these needs and how they interrelate, and then to apply creativity. It means the ability to call on a similarly broad spectrum of skills – experience allied with inventiveness, flair with logic, perseverance with craft – to turn problems into illuminating, uplifting answers. It is the ability to chase down and understand every nuance of a project, and use this to create opportunities. That is the strength of our offer.
Our philosophy, ever since we were founded in 1949, has been to satisfy the client, and beyond the clear prerequisites of delivering projects on time and on budget, the true key to this lies in together coming to a clear understanding of what is required. The brief is built meticulously. Our philosophy is to go to great lengths, working with the client, to understand and tease out every need and every possibility. As the process develops we pride ourselves in our clients’ ongoing close involvement.
Another key facet of our approach is the holistic nature of our work. Buildings inform and are informed by their context, improve and are improved by it, and for that reason our Practice is multidisciplinary, taking in urban design, landscape architecture and conservation as well as traditional architecture, space planning and interior design. To learn more about our approach to our broad sectors of expertise, click on ‘OUR WORK’, or follow the link to ‘Cornerstones’ below.
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Cornerstones
Many of our architects are leaders in their field of expertise, people whose opinion is sought, who lecture, and to whom others turn for advice and fresh thinking. We call them ‘Cornerstones’ to reflect their practical and symbolic importance, and because, of course, a word from the lexicon of our own profession feels more appropriate.
See what they’ve got to say… click here
