Interview
THE HOME THAT GUY BUILT
JADE TOLLEY TALKS TO GUY HOLLAWAY ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES OF HAVING AN EIDETIC MEMORY, BUILDING IN YOUR HOMETOWN AND PASSING THE ARCHITECTURAL TORCH
AFTER GROWING UP BUILDING WITH LEGO, A VISUAL PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY AND AN ABILITY TO DRAW A BUILDING PLAN FROM MEMORY TO SCALE, AND ENJOYING THE MORE CREATIVE SIDE OF THINGS THROUGHOUT HIS SCHOOL LIFE, IT SEEMED ONLY FITTING THAT GUY HOLLAWAY WOULD BECOME AN ESTABLISHED AND WELL RESPECTED ARCHITECT, WORKING ON PROJECTS AROUND THE WORLD AND IMPROVING AREAS AROUND HIS HOME TOWN OF KENT.
With three studios, two based in Kent and one in London, Guy's practice, Guy Hollaway Architects, specialises in both architecture and interior design and has a strong team of incredibly talented individuals working on the practice's major projects. "People walk along looking at their feet, but I used to walk along looking up at the buildings,"
20 Architects Choice July 2014
Guy told Architect's Choice, "I realised at the age of around 10 or 11 that I was interested in buildings and designing them. “I am also dyslexic and therefore leaned towards the more creative side of things both at school and when I went on to study further. I quickly realised I was gifted with the ability to easily realise space, as well as having a visual photographic memory, so working as an architect seemed only natural." Guy's transition into the field of architecture began after he studied at University of Brighton, and then graduated from the Architectural Association. Through the help of family and friends, he landed a job at Cheney & Thorpe Architects, a small regional practice, after graduating. Whilst working for the practice he studied for his diploma and then in a bold move, as the partners retired, took the plunge and took over the existing practice, creating Guy Hollaway Architects. The
company is 47 years old, but has been under Guy's name for four years. Guy said: "Architecture is a very long course, so you have a late maturing career, which is why I took on an existing practice and made it my own. Now we are an established, thriving company and I have a brilliant team working beside me." Alongside Guy's architecture practice he also teaches architecture and acts as a critic at the University of Creative Arts (UCA), something, which he would never have believed to be possible. "I never imagined I would be teaching after my academic background but I felt I needed to make a change in how architecture is taught. I was always told to reflect other architect's work in my own, when all I wanted to do was work outside of the box and create something amazing. When teaching, and also working in the studio, you are re-learning how to design.
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