黑洞社区

De-cluttering is either the happy by-product or the sad symptom of technological advancement - depending on how you look at it. Over the last few years, even the most chaotic of offices have become sleeker as computers and gadgetry have eliminated the need for much of the paraphernalia once harboured by the profession - particularly architects. But not everyone is prepared to give it up that easily. Few offices are as exuberantly content to run counter to the modern trend for technology-inspired orderliness as those of architectural practice Stanton Williams. The north London headquarters at Grand Junction Wharf is strewn with models and building materials. Books, papers and plans are scattered about the place along with the odd scalpel or piece of twine. And the canal, lapping up the sides of the building at window ledge height, adds to the relaxed, bohemian feel. This is a traditional, artistic space - one that Alan Stanton and Paul Williams feel strongly about.

鈥淭echnology is important but it is just one tool,鈥� explains Williams. 鈥淲e are not great lovers of the flat screen here. We want to get our staff off the computers and onto tables designing models. That鈥檚 what we are here - physical model makers. Still. And that鈥檚 what makes us different.鈥�

Our focus on interiors bucks the trend compared with the more egocentric style of architecture

Paul Williams

It鈥檚 not the only thing that makes the 50-strong, 拢4.7m practice different. Stanton and Williams, who set it up in 1985 and were joined by three other directors, Gavin Henderson, Patrick Richard and Peter Murray in 2006, have been bucking the trend for the past 26 years. With a strong background in designing for the arts - museums and galleries are their forte - they have always been more engaged with interior rather than exterior design, quite something for a practice charged with designing an Olympic venue. And unlike practically everyone else in their profession, they have no intention of shifting their focus away from working in the UK and chasing a plethora of opportunities abroad.

Whether this will turn out to be a successful strategy, no one yet knows. An annus horribilis that followed a 90% fall in pre-tax profit for the year ended September 2008 would in any case suggest that the strategy is fraught with risk. Yet turnover has remained relatively stable, dipping to 拢3.8m in 2009 but back up now to 拢4.7m. Profit recovered slowly, reaching 拢64,551 for the year ended September 2010. The firm鈥檚 current and pipeline projects also look healthy, including Eton Manor - the London Olympic venue for wheelchair tennis due to complete this month - and stores for Japanese designer Issey Miyake. And besides, Stanton and Williams insist that being different is one of the vital keys to their success.

Not following the crowd

A 90% plummet in pre-tax profit is enough to put anyone on the back foot. Ever since profit plunged to just under 拢56,000 in 2008, Stanton Williams has been climbing uphill. Now the figure has only risen by about 拢10,000 between 2008-2010 but the directors are predicting further modest growth in 2012, although they won鈥檛 be drawn on a percentage. Rather than follow the crowd and look for work overseas to achieve growth, they intend to focus on the UK, in as many sectors as possible.
As architectural practices around them gear up for work in China, India, or wherever else the opportunities may be, Stanton Williams is staying put. 鈥淲e made a decision a while ago not to focus too much on overseas work and the vast majority of our turnover comes from the UK,鈥� says Williams. Are they not concerned about the future of the UK economy in 2012 and beyond? 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 swayed, no. We do work in France, Switzerland and we had a job in Moscow. And a lot of our art work is overseas but generally we will stick to what we believe in, which is having a spectrum of experience over a number of sectors in the UK.鈥�

These sectors include residential, retail, education, masterplanning, sport and leisure and transport. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never really been focused on one sector,鈥� says Williams. 鈥淪o in terms of beating the recession that鈥檚 really helped as we haven鈥檛 had to rely on one specific area.鈥�

And their decision not to embrace technology at the expense of existing skills such as model making facilitates this: 鈥淭echnology is changing fast, and clients have different demands,鈥� says Stanton. 鈥淏ut we feel our broad approach means we don鈥檛 have to be a specialist in everything. We can bring specialists in, which allows us to bring our skills - creativity, design, space efficiency.

鈥淏IM is an important tool and we have started using it but the computer is just a tool and we also like to be physical and make models. It鈥檚 good for communication as well as presentations and it鈥檚 an ethos that runs through the whole studio. We don鈥檛 feel technology needs to be at the expense of everything else.鈥�

Tough times

So is there anything else the firm wants to do differently? 鈥淭he way we work is the exact opposite way to how most architects are trained,鈥� says Stanton. 鈥淭hat鈥檒l be a 鈥榶es鈥� then.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e very interiors-focused,鈥� adds Williams. 鈥淎nd that has steered us in a different direction to our competitors. We look more at internal spaces than external facades. It bucks the trend compared with the more egocentric style of architecture that so many have adopted.鈥�

鈥淥bviously we鈥檙e working on bigger projects now,鈥� adds Stanton quickly. 鈥淪o we are concerned by outsides as well as insides.鈥� He points out that these days clients are acutely concerned by how a building works efficiently on the inside: 鈥淐lients want flexibility more than ever. Budgets are tight and buildings must be as efficient as possible. We have to think through every space, put intelligence into the design and think 鈥榗an I get double use out of this space?鈥� And that鈥檚 something we have experience in.鈥�

Looking around the pleasantly cluttered offices for a second time, as staff work on computers, sketchpads, iPads and cardboard models, moving between well-lit
canal-side tables, a makeshift library of books, their desks and a craft bench, it鈥檚 clear that when it comes to making use of the space you鈥檝e got, Stanton Williams has got it sussed.