094 FX TALKS
Left Sebastien Loeb getting ready to race on the Moscow Raceway, Russia in 2015
Below An exterior view of New York City’s iconic Oculus Center, designed by Santiago Calatrava
problem through, come up with solutions, and somehow go back to sleep and remember the solution in the morning.
I think best when… (e.g. in a gallery/at home/ outside/over drinks/with friends/on the bus) I think best at home or on a run. Running helps with my thinking a lot.
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What will lead the way for more radical thinking in our field?
Te will of the people and a change in mindset. Our understanding of what is important to us needs to be re-thought, for the environment we live in and to the way we live our lives. With this opportunity, all sectors will be looking for solutions – projects and finance will open up. Te radical thinkers will see these opportunities and create new ways, approaches and objects that are all life-enhancing. At the end of the day, all change starts with creativity. Tere are a lot of radical thinkers that are perhaps not successful or even not heard, but collectively they make change. Tere are a few, of course, that stand out and pioneer, Priscilla Carluccio (Conran) being one of them.
Could you recommend a book/article/blog that inspired your thinking?
My inspiration comes from what is around me; people, places, objects and what I might be reading. Life is an inspiration, from throughout history to our current thinking. My latest book purchase is Mudlark’d by Malcomb Russell, which is a good reference tool for a new project we are working on with Te New Craftsmen. Books often help shape the concept for the work we do. I’ve amassed quite the library over the years!
Could you name two buildings/pieces of furniture that you consider radical designs of their time, or perhaps still to this day? Te Pantheon in Rome is an awe-inspiring building with a clever structural design using concrete which makes the most of natural light through the genius roof opening. I also love Te
Oculus in New York, the recently built transport hub and shopping centre that makes a brave and exciting statement. I love the contrast between early 20th and early 21st century architecture. It’s a work of art.
On a much smaller scale, I love the chaise longue by Charlotte Perriand who translated modernist arcitecture into furniture and who designed iconic pieces that are still considered contemporary almost 100 years on.
I think best with… (e.g. my hands/a pencil/ with a computer)
I think best with my hands. Tey might be holding a pencil, a welder, or a piece of cardboard, but that’s where I feel most at home. Computers are for working things out and enable communication, but for me the thinking happens in a more physical way. I was recently tasked with creating a futuristic sculpture for a high-end jewellery brand as part of an installation in Selfridges. I had a day or so to think about it whilst working on other projects and I went into my workshop at home one Saturday morning with a few hours to create something. I had bought some brass rods and had a piece of broken marble from a skip. I went into a complete world of my own and, after a few hours of cutting, drilling, trial and error and lots of soldering came out with a respectable piece. I love being able to create in this way.
I think best… (e.g. first thing in the morning/ last thing at night)
Most of my thinking happens during the day – mornings are best. But the design problems get solved at night. I can wake up and think a
Te thought that keeps me up at night is… Te thought that keeps me up at night is the pressure of delivering. Being creative to a deadline is always difficult. Tere may be an answer that comes quickly, or perhaps not! Delivering the best possible solution in increasingly tight time frames, set by modern day pace, is difficult.
Te thought that gets me out of bed each day is…
Creating! I love being able to restore, repair and build something new from scratch, from materials in hand or from a blank piece of paper.
Do you like to think with, or think against? ‘With’ is easier, ‘against’ is harder, but sometimes a bit of both and a balance is required.
If you weren’t a designer/architect, where do you think your way of thinking would have led you?
I think I would have ended up with a career in engineering. My brother is one, and my father was one. My father is very creative with his hands and I still take great inspiration from him.
Could you describe radical thinking in three words?
Beyond the normal
What’s the most radical thing you’ve come across today or this week?
I have been lucky enough to be in Andalucía this week on holiday. We stopped off at the mountain village of Setenil de las Bodegas, where houses are built into caves. Radical but totally practical thinking a few hundred years ago!
Andrew Martin is founder of interior architecture studio AMD and sustainable pop- up shop concept, Residency. Andrew has 32 years’ experience creating engaging commercial spaces designed to ‘enhance human experiences’. His expertise includes bespoke retailenvironments, restaurant and café design, 3Dinstallations and transient retail spaces
KIT LEONG /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
EV. SAFRONOV /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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