Design starts with a thorough analysis of the programme of requirements, the site, and its surroundings. Apparent contradictions between programme and context are embraced in defining a specific approach to each commission. Buildings derive their expression from the exploitation of contrasts: building versus surroundings, inside versus outside, old versus new, light versus dark.
Our aim is to translate the potential contained within the design task into an ideal programme, allowing the rational and ideal programmes to form a synergy and reinforce one another. Underpinning each project is a clear visual concept and a well-considered design strategy. Key factors in our work are clarity, order, detailing, and the use of materials. These greatly determine the expression and consistency of a building, of which the interior is an integral aspect, linked inextricably to the exterior in our designs.
These elements are deployed to give shape to the concept, allowing the architecture to attain the perfectionism we strive for, regardless of the nature of the design task. A dialogue between the client and the architect throughout the design process is essential. Designing is about making choices, and we believe the architect has a responsibility to explain the consequences of those choices. A thorough understanding of the requirements of clients and users is therefore indispensable.
The portfolio of projects undertaken by our office is varied, encompassing social housing, villas, urban design, shopping centres, office complexes, and schools. Our work is often described in the press using terms such as dynamic, functional, innovative in its use of materials, and expressive, as well as reflecting a fascination with technology. This fascination refers not only to the elaboration of architectural concepts, but also to the application of innovative techniques in the pursuit of advancing the art of building.
In this respect, a central concept in our thinking is that good architecture must transcend the era in which it is created.
