22 VIEWS
coalface hugely rewarding. One of the great thrills of being an architect is seeing, from the centre, this great web of interconnected organisations and people, all striving towards a common goal. It also focuses the mind when working up a detail late into the night that if you get it wrong, you can cause a lot of people a lot of difficulty! The best contractors are the ones who see that value in bringing the architects and the craftspeople together and actively facilitate that process.
ARE YOU A ‘BIM JUNKIE’ OR IS IT AN OBSTACLE COURSE?
Having been closely involved in the transition to BIM in my previous firm, I am well placed to support WGP Architects on their journey. It is a challenging process, but an inevitable shift, which will undoubtedly pay dividends in quality and efficiency if we are able to manage the misconceptions that remain prevalent in the industry. The key is to understand BIM as an information management tool that reinforces the core architectural skills which remain unchanged. At its best, it brings the design team closer together in the collective endeavour of designing and delivering buildings.
WHAT’S THE BEST PROJECT YOU’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN?
The opening concert for the Brighton College Music School, designed by Eric Parry Architects, was a hugely cathartic and emotional handover for a project that I had poured my heart into for the better part of four years. It taught me hard lessons from both the best and worst the construction industry has to offer. The end result is a jewel of a building that I am proud to have been involved in designing.
DO YOU THINK THAT RESTORING AND REUSING OLDER BUILDINGS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS ‘ARCHITECTURE’ AS MUCH AS CREATING SHINY NEW LANDMARKS IS? There’s no question about this. Not least because in the ‘old’ countries of Europe, new buildings account for only a fraction of the built environment. So if we are going to address the societal issues of housing, deteriorating school and hospital infrastructure and so on, whilst minimising our impact on the environment, we must work with what we already have. The ingenuity and creativity of the architects working in the UK, as
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
created by the restrictive boundaries within which we operate, mean that we have developed the skills to lead the way in adaptive reuse.
IS ARCHITECTURE SOMETIMES ABOUT BEING A GOOD DIPLOMAT RATHER THAN A GREAT DESIGNER? It requires both these things, along with many other complementary skills. The best are polymaths, who recognise architecture is a collective enterprise. It requires the complementary skills and knowledge of others to help architects to achieve their vision. Of course, all the effort is not worth much if the work doesn’t stand up to critical scrutiny. It is way too hard a business to waste the effort on delivering mediocrity.
WHAT’S YOUR BIG GOAL FOR 2021? We’ve had such a bleak year, but I am confident that the glimmer of light on the horizon will materialise as one of the brightest springs in living memory. The pandemic has slightly delayed WGP’s plans for expansion, but we are aiming to come out the other side running.
Damien Lee is a director at WGP Architects
ADF FEBRUARY 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
