Name
Olivia Laxton.

When did you join Austin-Smith:Lord?
Originally 2016-18.  Rejoined 2019.

What is your role within our Creative Collective?
Associate Senior Interior Designer.

What are you working on at the moment?
Rougemont School, Fairwater Campus, University of Exeter Wellbeing Centre, Fitzalan High School.

What inspires you most in your work?
People!! Chatting with people, sharing around ideas, seeing how people work/behave within a space – those are the things that inspire me in my work.

What lessons have you learned in your work?
The biggest lesson I have learned in my work is that without collaboration, this job is nearly impossible! During lockdown when we weren’t able to share ideas and knowledge as easily as we could before, the role of designer became incredibly challenging, so it has made me forever grateful of the collaborative culture within Austin-Smith:Lord.

Which designers / projects do you most admire and why? 
Morag Myerscough – her work always just feels so joyful and inspires me to have more freedom as a designer.

What are the key issues facing our design professions in the 2020s?
How do we design buildings to adapt at the same rate as our behaviour? This encompasses how we act sustainably as well as how we behave socially and culturally. It’s our responsibility as designers to design buildings that are fit for the future, but how do we design for the unknown?

What fictional place would you like to visit?
The Gatsby Mansion – I would have loved to have been around for the roaring 20s!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard? 
Just do it…what’s the worst that could happen?

Complete the following – “I couldn’t get through the week without……..”
Crisps.