Can you tell us how your path into architecture began?
I was supposed to go to Cambridge to studymedicine—specifically to be a surgeon. But that changed after a climbing trip Iorganised when I was just 17 or 18, I borrowed my mother’s car and crashed. Iwas concussed, cut my lip, and when I got home, they told me the car was awrite-off. But I looked at it and thought, “No, I can fix that.” And I did.Fixing that car felt incredibly satisfying. Much more so than trying to learnall the unknowns in biology and medicine.
At that point, I realised I didn’t want to study what webarely understood—I wanted to make things. That eventually led me to the AASchool of Architecture in London.
What was your early career like—how did you get startedprofessionally?
I got started young—by 25, maybe even earlier, I was workingon large-scale housing projects. One of the first was in the Borough of Merton,South London. The government had promised an unrealistic number ofhouses—something like 500,000 a year—and local authorities had made their owninflated pledges. Merton had promised 2,000 and had built just five.
So they advertised for architects, and three brilliantcolleagues and I applied together. To everyone’s surprise, they hired us. Wewere told to build blocks of flats, but we pushed for townhouses instead.People want homes, not towers. We figured out how to make that work byintegrating garages into the houses themselves, saving land, increasingdensity, and creating a lovely community. That became the Pollards Hilldevelopment. It worked so well that we got another site shortly after and builtanother thousand houses. That was the beginning.
Which projects stand out to you as particularlymeaningful or innovative?
Parsons House stands out. It was a council tower block inWestminster with serious problems with the windows. Flats were cold andleaking. We didn’t just replace the windows—we wrapped the whole building ininsulation, like an overcoat. That improved the temperature, stopped thedrafts, and avoided displacing residents. I even designed a new skin for thebuilding that could be installed using rising platforms, not scaffolding. It kepttenants feeling safe. No UK contractor wanted to do it, so we worked with aSwiss company. It turned into a real success story.
There were others, too. I did a single storey courtyardhouse in Greenwich with Richard McCormack—exposed brickwork, no window frames,just windows sliding on rails set into the brickwork, so the inside and outsidecourtyards were treated exactly the same as rooms. Another project was a woodenhouse, entirely built with pegs—no screws, no bolts. Made of Iroco wood. Thatone was special.
Building a career is very demanding. How did you balancework with family life?
Balance was everything to me. I always worked from home. Weshut the office every August for a month. Took the kids skiing and travelling-I even built a converted Mercedes lorry to drive across Europe, complete withkitchen, bathroom, and bunks. It was never just about work.
I’ve always believed that being a successful architectdidn’t mean having the biggest practice or the most employees. I had up to 12people working for me at one point, but the pressure—cash flow, payroll—wasenormous. I enjoyed smaller jobs more. They were more personal, more fun.
Did your children follow you into architecture?
No—and that’s not a regret at all. I encouraged them to dowhat they truly cared about. One did some wonderful series advertising filmswhile working for Visa, another leads a software team in Boston and San Diego,and the youngest has become a very successful photographer. Architecture is ademanding, sometimes strange profession. I never pushed it on them. I’m gladthey followed their own paths.
Any projects that never happened but stayed with you?
Lots. You get planning permission, and it falls through. Onein Ealing—10 little houses in a sunken area—never happened. Another was aboutusing compressed straw, Stramit, as a building material. We even went to Chinato present the concept, but it didn’t take off. Still, they were excitingideas.
You designed furniture, interiors— even tools. Why?
If I need something, I make it. Chairs, lamps, tables—it’sall part of creating a space that works. I consider myself a designer, not justan architect. I could have been an engineer, maybe, but I love architecture.
When did you move to Chiswick?
We moved about 18 years ago. I didn’t need a five-storeyhouse and a big office anymore. My wife and I searched for the nicest HighStreet in London and found it here. We wanted a smaller house and somethingeast west facing for morning and afternoon light. We kept the Victorian frontof the house intact and added a clean, modern section in the back.
I have done maybe 30 houses around Glebe Estate and most ofthem have come here to see my house. I always say “If an architect can’t makehis house nice, you shouldn’t go to him.”
You’re retiring now. What’s next?
I’ll carry on working, but only on voluntary projects. Idon’t want to run a formal practice anymore—too much paperwork, too many forms.But I’ll never stop creating. Right now, I’m designing libraries in Ghana for acharity, and we are doing a lot of travelling within Britain. It’s a fantasticcountry—we have been to places like Northumberland, Norfolk, hidden spots inLondon. There’s still so much to explore.
Looking back, do you have any regrets?
No, I don’t. I might have had a more conventionallysuccessful career, but I wouldn’t trade what I had—working from home, raising afamily, building things that mattered—for anything. Architecture has been apart of everything, but so have climbing, travelling, and making. That’s whatkept me going.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to pursuean architecture career?
My advice to anyone who likes designing and making things isto first of all get the best qualifications you can at school (maths, sciencesand art), get a qualification in architecture if you can, as the training isvery broad and will help you blag your way into the best designer, studio, firmthat you like (with pictures of what you have made in the interim).
Qualifications help with what you will be paid to startwith, but after that, enthusiasm, curiosity, and determination are what do therest.
