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ASK THE ARCHITECT
Festus Moffat, director at John Robertson Architects (JRA), answers ADF’s questions on his motivations, and his practice’s future plans
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BECOME AN ARCHITECT? Growing up, I was always interested in drawing, and in art, and I was good at maths and physics, so architecture was a fit for me. Being part of the creative process was an irresistible pull.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT IT MOST NOW? Being an architect, I get to experience views over London and other cities that very few people will ever see. It is an enormous privilege.
Festus Moffat, director at John Robertson Architects
DO YOU ENJOY PROJECT DESIGN MORE AS IT GETS MORE CHALLENGING AND COMPLEX? Definitely! Being an architect is about being the lead consultant, which means taking guardianship of the vision for the project, bringing together all of the inputs to the design from the wider team and assimilating them, so that a rounded and coherent scheme is developed and delivered. The more challenging the project, the more that role is key to its success and the greater the satisfaction there is in realising the vision.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART OF YOUR JOB? There can be an attitude of fear on some projects, which can inhibit freedom of thought amongst some design team members, leading them to default to formulaic responses to problems, rather than focusing on finding an elegant solution that is in the spirit of the overall design vision. This can be very frustrating and challenging to overcome, making the job that little bit harder.
DO YOU SEE CONSISTENCY AS EQUAL IN IMPORTANCE TO CREATIVITY? If by consistency you mean the ability to develop key aspects of the creative response to the brief and apply them throughout the project to achieve a coherent design then, yes, we believe they go hand in hand.
WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT? Without a doubt it is our team at JRA. We have invested a lot of time in employing young architects straight out of university and mentoring them as they begin their
Bloom – new workplace, retail and amenity space in Clerkenwell © Peter Cook
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF AUGUST 2022
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