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Not everyone would invest such trust in an
inexperienced architect. You bust some
popular myths about what is possible.
There is an innocence of youth I suppose. It allows
for a fuller exploration of ideas and innovation
without preconceptions of what is, or isn’t possible.
With so much red tape and legislation, architects
often rule out solutions that push the limits of
what is considered the norm. From a conceptual
viewpoint, it’s important to be ‘on the edge’ and
maintain the conceptual design intent.
How helpful is it to have a parent as patron,
or benefactor to get your career going?
There are plenty of ups and downs throughout
the whole process. Every month you have the same
disputes over claims and things as any building site.
It’s just like any other job but there are a different set
of issues. There are more personal ones and they all
need to be worked through.
Were you apprehensive about your design
measuring up and keeping the faith?
Always. On a project like this I was very concerned
throughout the whole process. When you’re given
that level of responsibility and dealing with large
amounts of money you want to make sure that
every step is the right one and to minimize the
risk associated with the building.
How long did it take to arrive at the essential design?
About six to eight months – from concept to
planning approval submission. Dealing with council
took another six-months. Documentation phase was
relatively shorter, we allocated 3 months prior
to the project commencing on-site.
You mention Los Angeles’ mid-20th century
Case Study houses – especially the work of
Richard Neutra. What is it about those projects
you find irresistible?
They’re remarkable houses. A lot of Neutra’s work
creates strong horizontal planes and lines that have
a wonderful proportion and human scale. I wanted to
try and re-create that scale where you feel as though
the building isn’t overwhelming, or overbearing.