Basil Spence and Gordon Cullen
I was seven when we moved from the dark, 19th century industrial landscape of Bradford to the bright newness of a re-energised post-war Coventry. I distinctly remember watching a short film about John Piper working with Basil Spence to create the incredible stained glass of the Baptistry window at the Cathedral but actually experiencing it had a profound effect on me and a seed was sown…
As a seventeen year old my astute geography teacher handed me a 1st edition copy of Gordon Cullen’s Townscape - another life changing moment and a fortuitous influence that, in retrospect, probably helped me gain a place at the School of Architecture in Sheffield… - I proudly talked to my interviewer about how much I loved the book - oblivious to the fact that Cullen was still a visiting critic and very good friend of the then Head of School, David Gosling!
“Going to work with such a great group of people is always a joy but the best days are the ones when I know I can spend time at the drawing board…”
drawing
I thrive on the buzz of creating projects with enthusiastic and informed clients - I still believe that the act of drawing should be at the core of the generative process. Nothing can capture the essence of an architectural idea better than a fluid and spontaneous drawing… our use of increasingly sophisticated software to create more seductive imagery can only ever be, for me, a complementary and less vital way of working.
well made things
I enjoy the intrinsic beauty of well - made objects - particularly buildings, furniture, bicycles and cars. Relaxation comes with time in my workshop/studio - making furniture, woodturning, keeping my old cars on the road (a 1960 P4 Rover and a Series 3 Landrover), rebuilding old bikes and when time really allows… painting (very slowly)
