22 INSIGHTS
trend of slow and sensible growth. It is also an “inclusive” practice – and one which believes in using their power of recruitment to encourage social mobility, not least to bring a rich spread of different perspectives. Events, exhibitions, and competitions continue to prove their utility as a way of finding the next talented architect to join the team.
Embracing past & future
Some architects only want to do architecture the way they want to do it
which is a further safeguard for the firm going forward. WW+P now numbers over 100 architects, designers, visualisers and support staff in the London office, and 30 more championing the brand’s approach from two more offices located in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.
On the basis of their hard-earned expertise in the transport
sector, two years ago WW+P were selected by Metro Melbourne to work on improving the city’s underground rail network. It was this project that spurred the opening of the firm’s first Australia office. Breese explains to ADF how work in new sectors has helped further develop the practice: “We’ve used transport and infrastructure as a lever to help us in those new markets, as well as our thoughts around transport-oriented development and how other elements of the city plug in – residential and masterplanning – to push things elsewhere.”
The architects have an opportunistic and altruistic attitude towards tackling the challenges of a growing and more dispersed workforce. “It gives you that opportunity to upscale in all areas of work, and allows people in the practice to grow into new roles because of that advancement at the higher end,” explains Philip. With this in mind, WW+P are calmly intent on maintaining their
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The practice prides itself on active engagement with fusing more traditional elements with progressive technologies. When quizzed as to schemes that illustrate this drive, both Chris and Philip cite their work on Paddington’s new Crossrail station as an exemplar, located adjacent to Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s original listed building (this project is to be presented in the October 2018 issue of ADF). “We tried to imagine; if he were alive today, with all the modern materials and modern construction techniques, what would he do? We didn’t want to do a pastiche of the original building,” Chris explains. With Brunel’s epoch of plentiful cheap labour long passed, Paddington Crossrail station made extensive use of offsite and modern methods of construction to accelerate construction processes and allow for quality to be better assessed. Phil explains further: “In the past couple of years we’ve done quite a lot of work in volumetric and offsite design. It’s high-tech in the way it’s manufactured but, equally, low-tech in how it’s put together.”
When asked for exemplars from other, possibly competing firms which have provided inspiration, Philip mentions the “well-crafted” R7 by Duggan Morris, part of the Kings Cross masterplan. For Philip, this scheme with its eye-catching pink exterior “does something different” within the context of the broader locale.
Chris notes there is a danger of being ‘typecast’ in the UK: “Part of the problem with being an architect here is that you tend to be recognised for one particular skill or one particular sector of design”. He continues: “I admire practices with a wide variety of different kinds of work, as well as a specialism.” His closing words tie in with WW+P’s aspirations to continue bolstering and broadening their repertoire. Recent appointments, including work on Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, oversight on the developments surrounding East Croydon Station, not to mention a new school in Cambodia, show their commitment to not only consolidate their position in more familiar sectors, but branch out into fruitful new pastures.
ADF AUGUST 2018
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