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“That combination
of the Low-E coated
internal pane and external
green is something we’re
comfortable with. From
the exterior the aesthetic
has an Australian quality
about it.”
DAVID SEELEY, ARCHITECT
a glazing combination we use in most of our designs.
How important is it for architects to fully grasp the
potential of materials to help them realize the potential
of place?
Very. Sometimes there are multiple material choices but
equally there are wrong choices. It’s about understanding
what to do with a material and a product. This is borne
out of experience. As the practice has grown we have
learnt, and we learn by our mistakes dare I say. That
combination of the Low-E coated internal pane and
external green is something we’re comfortable with.
From the exterior the aesthetic has an Australian
quality about it.
Having confidence in the way you design and work
comes about working with good teams of people who
add their polish and clients who contribute to the mix.
It’s a bit of a cliché but great clients get great
architecture, great buildings. It’s like a pearl where
it’s an irritation in a piece of sand inside the shell that
becomes something beautiful. There’s no one particular
great client model because I guess we also rise to the
challenge of resolving, or solving complex problems.
It’s the best outcome when you work synergistically with
your client and it’s not necessarily one party controlling
the other. Ultimately you could look at a number of our
works and see a similarity but there’s also a considerable
difference in what each building is and that’s largely
because of the parties to that project are different.
Do you need to fundamentally like people
and reward them, to be a good architect?
It certainly helps. If you didn't like them, you probably
wouldn’t do the job. The qualities of a good architect is to
listen and filter to get to the salient points. It’s a process
of enquiry and curiosity to fully understand place, which
takes considerable time and effort. Not something you
can do successfully with a fly in fly out approach.
What are some of the ‘must-do’ points on your design
check-list?
Respond to location in a way that will make the age
of the house difficult to pick. The cliché is; the timeless
house, as I prefer to avoid styles, fashions and what’s
in the latest design journals. I try to think deeply about
how we can address the pragmatics of a site; wind,
shelter, sun, shade, views, vegetation together with
understanding the idiosyncrasies of each client
and their needs.