Words:
Carl Turner
Photograph:
Skåle Ericksen
One of the lessons we learnt is that there is nothing to be gained from shying away from business or the idea of money. Architects who do are culpable of creating a climate where design and the role of the architect have been devalued to such an extent that it has become practically impossible to run a small to medium sized practice profitably. The simple fact is that buildings cost money, and usually lots of it. The thinking goes that if you use an architect, it will cost you a whole lot more. We have tried and tested different methods of practice to combat this preconception and it’s zero-sum game where the ultimate model may be pre-fab buildings, available from catalogue. No-one wants that, so we must demonstrate the value of using an architect in different ways. We have described our ethos as “low cost, high impact architecture”. The impact may be visible, but may be about affordability, or scale or durability or a combination of all the above.
