Build Architecture Awards

Build Architecture Awards 2015 54 GOAStudio is a London based architectural team lead by George Omalianakis. After working for award winning practices and projects in London and the north of England he set up GOAStudio to focus on residential architecture. Since 2009 GOAStudio have designed more than 170 residential projects across London and developed working relationships with a team of other professionals, local authority officers, consultants and builders. GOAStudio offer full architectural services and the vast majority of their clients are private individuals and small-scale developers. In terms of our philosophy it always comes down to people and spaces. We deal with peo- ple, we design spaces, it is that simple. This is what we do. People and spaces inspire us. It is not all about match-making but creative match-making is at the heart of our approach. Our focus is the people who get in touch with us and their particular circumstances, lifestyles and requirements at the time. This is what informs our decision making and this is also the first thing we try to understand, ap- preciate and even creatively challenge before we start thinking about spaces, aesthetics, programmes and design solutions. Materials, styles, trends and narratives are the tools we use however we never allow them to be the focus of our approach. Our projects appear visually diverse and this is something we rather enjoy achieving. Marshall McLuhan’s global village predated Twitter, social media and global / local archi- tectural aesthetics; there has always been cross-fertilisation of culture and ideas through empires, sea trading routes, oral traditions and story-telling. What is different now is that the scale and intimacy of the information one can receive is of a completely different scale. Off-line publications do a good job trying to keep up with the speed and breadth of any design developments however there is always an editorial line that needs to be followed for every issue and there is a limit on the type of projects on. The opinion pieces can be enlightening. But it is a slow way to showcase emerging trends. Twitter is anarchic, random, immediate, intimate and instant. Twitter is your oyster if you want to have at your fingertips what is happening anywhere and at any time. In terms of making ourselves unique from our competitors it is the Alice in Wonderland effect we try to recreate when considering long views through spaces. It is the airport terminal effect we try to avoid when designing living areas. It is the cathedral effect that makes volumes special and creates a sense of lightness. The garden is always the stage when trying to decide on the internal lighting levels. Our clients listen and understand the metaphors and the way we describe things; they seem to enjoy the way we talk about architecture. It is through language and a bit of magic that we manage to communicate ideas, choices and experiences. Architectural design is an extremely complex process with a number of technical, legal and construction issues that need to be resolved along the duration of a project. What probably makes us different is the way we try to communicate all this while at the same time retaining the focus on the essence of what we do and why we do it is important to our clients. As for the culture in place here at GOAStudio it is very much nature versus nurture and it is nurture that defines and develops the culture and values of our studio. It takes particular Best for Contemporary Residential Refurbishments London, UK Company: GOAStudio Name: George Omalianakis Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.goastudio.co.uk Address: Clerkenwell Workshops, 27/31 Clerkenwell Close, EC1R 0AT, Islington Telephone: 020 313 70905 George Omalianakis | Chartered Architect Umi Ishimoto | Architectural Designer