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ASK THE ARCHITECT
Greg Blee, founder of Blee Halligan, tells ADF how he found himself working in architecture almost by accident, and why he now focuses on creating projects overseas which blend into their landscapes
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BECOME AN ARCHITECT?
It sort of happened by accident. My father, my grandfather, and two of my brother-in- laws are all architects. I wanted to become a race mechanic for a Formula One team as I had a kart racing career when I was a teenager and was entirely hooked and wanted to make a life out of it, but my mum thought I should go to do one year of university first to see whether I liked it or not. I picked architecture and went to the University of Bath, but it wasn’t until my Erasmus year in the Netherlands that I really started to ‘get it’ – and my post graduate diploma at the Bartlett cemented my love for architecture. But it all took a while…
Greg Blee, co-founder, Blee Halligan
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT IT NOW? I love a few aspects. The knock-on-the-door from a new client is always thrilling – that feeling of opportunity. I enjoy the concept stage when you have freedom to dream of a solution that you think might work for the client, and the excitement of showing them what your idea is for them. I also enjoy the technical aspects of design and being involved in critiquing the studio’s construction documents with a view to longevity, robustness and resilience. The middle bit, with planning, I could definitely leave to someone else!
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN CO- FOUNDING A PRACTICE IN TWO CONTINENTS? Well, one came after the other – naturally – but I remember very distinctly having no money and a lot of stress, with the phone ringing either late at night or very early in the morning from clients in our other location! It was really stressful, but I sensed the opportunity abroad which kept me going.
HOW HARD HAVE YOU FOUND GETTING THE RIGHT UK PROJECTS TO ESTABLISH YOURSELVES HERE? To be honest, we have stopped working in the UK for the time being. The planning process is nonsense and takes far too long for no reason in my opinion. It feels like it’s only there to dilute ambition and free thinking. The opportunity for exciting work is just not in the UK at the moment for us. So we are looking elsewhere abroad to find opportunities where there might be like minded clients.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY PURSUING ‘THE CONVERGENCE OF NATURE, EXPERIENCE AND MATERIALITY’ IN RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS & HAVE YOU ALWAYS ACHIEVED IT? The honest answer is no. More generally, I don’t feel that we have ever really succeeded in making a brilliant project just yet – it’s an endless search! Architecture is
Bay House, Turks and Caicos Islands © Henry Woide
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF FEBRUARY 2024
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