Core Values
Finding Optimal Solutions
Yes architecture is an art, but it is certainly not an abstract art. I follow a more rational and methodical approach to every design decison in order to narrow down the infinite possibles step by step, before finding the optimal solutions for a specific project.
In this way building design is a process of discovery. Firstly asking questions and seeking out in all the information I can, and then earnestly searching for the optimum solutions for a specific client that adresses their specific needs, on their unique site, within their budget.
I’m also always conscious of the fact that one particular design solution will objectively preform better or worse than an alternative solution in terms of each project’s specific performance requirements.
Consequently the criteria for every design decision is almost never so arbitrary as just a question of taste.
Architectural Alchemy
A skilled artist can create works of art which have a value that far exceeds the cost of the canvas, the paint and the brushes. Similarly, I believe that an especially skilled architect can preform a kind of architectural alchemy, where the value of the completed building far exceeds the cost of all of its parts.
This has been my personal experience on a number of completed projects, with objective evidence to back-up the claim, and I’d gladly talk about this in more detail.
Innovative Problem Solving
I follow a first principals approach to building design, abandoning preconceptions and breaking down problems into their fundamental truths in order to arrive at innovative and creative solutions.
For a simple example of this: On the Kikembe gatehouse project, the architects who had gone before me couldn’t find a solution to the space constraints of the site. They had thought of the space above the estate’s internal road as unavailable, but the rules that apply to the space above a public road do not apply to the space above a road on a private estate.
In general, poor building design unwittingly creates problems, even if it has an appearance that is somewhat aesthetically pleasing. Whilst some of these problems may be more obvious, most are not. The occupants of these buildings just adapt as humans do, unknowingly handicapped and unaware of the far greater possibilities that could have been with more careful, inspired and skilled planning.
Conversely, like good infrastructure great buildings solve problems, and can continually add value and enrich those who invest in them.