Build Magazine December 2015

Build Magazine 43 and taking on interesting shapes? Additionally, is it not a coincidence that in nature there are barely any square shapes? So why do buildings have to be square? Buildings can be around for decades, so people need to look at what buildings will look like in 20 to 50 years’ time. More importantly, what will happen with larger developments which may stand for generations? One of our largest projects is the sea front hotel. The sea front hotel is a half kilometre-long site, a total of eleven hectares. Our aim from day one was to create a landmark for generations to come: something that will correspond to the natural curve of the site, has a concept, respects the culture of the area, responds to the brief but also stays timeless. We aim to not only re-invent design and make it more interesting and fun, but to deliver up-to-date and futureproof designs so the buildings may function for years to come. To put it simply, the ethos behind our practice is to be inspired, original and innovative. We produce as many design options as possible in order to amaze our clients. We believe that we must have a true understanding of our clients’ needs, lifestyle and personality and of the people who are to inhabit the space. For example, in the Religion Centre, the brief was asking for a building that could be used by all religions, which is quite a difficult task to be honest. However, our design was based on a connected, interchangeable area, which provides privacy but also flows into each of the religious spaces. Both the internal and external interaction areas for the guests are the atrium spaces. The design appears abstract, monumental and sculp- tural creating a liberal design that represents the freedom to follow your religion in a building shared by several religions. The result: we won the com- petition. Our aim is not to satisfy our clients, but to astonish them. Additionally, we are able to keep costs down with the value engineering technique – which is an added bonus. We design skyscrapers but we also design smaller residential projects. It is not the scale of the project, but the design that is important to us. Our clients should want to (and be willing to) have something different; something unique. It does not matter if the client cannot afford the design; we find alterna- tive ways to get it built, whether it is with different materials or simpler construction techniques. Most of our clients are pioneers. The truth is that the world’s best fortunes have been made from opportunities that many people have seen but only a few have realised. This is an opportunity: to create a ground breaking building and increase the space’s value. From our perspective, good design is very impor- tant. It improves the quality of living, enhancing the status of the people living and working in it. How our designs affect the status of our clients is very important to us. In terms of projects I am proud of, I couldn’t really single one out over others. However, if I really had to I would pick the renovation of the facade of Tower 42. Tower 42 is a 35 year old tower in the City of London and has recently been refused a listed status. The main challenges the Tower faces are the constrained floor space and the dated and bland facade. We believe that the tower should be renovated, but not necessarily demolished (for environmental reasons). With our proposal, the facade could be altered in a way that it can bear the load of the building. Therefore the floor plates can be expanded with the minimum cost increasing the floor space and resulting in a new aerodynamic design. Finally, in order to support the sustainability agenda, we would introduce horizontal gardens. These gardens would help with the air flow and natural ventilation of the tower. They would also act as a recreational space encouraging interaction between colleagues when taking their coffee or lunch breaks in these beautiful gardens. Unfortunately, the project stopped when the management changed. Interestingly enough, a lot of our clients abroad asked us to use the design for their sites. Looking further ahead, we have plans to open a second office in Dubai next year, but we are very interested to expand in to every continent. Our immediate aim is to expand to the US and Asia. We have grown very quickly as a practice since the time we started, from one person to twenty in a couple of years, so we can easily handle a large number of projects. Tower 42 Facade Renovation, London