Hi, JJ, how are you?

 

Good morning, David. Very well, thank you.

 

I'm intrigued to ask you some questions about your 15th anniversary as a practice, which happens this year because you started in 2009.

 

Well, it actually happened this weekend, just past. 

 

Really? 

 

Yeah. Saturday (27 January) was the official 15 years.

 

Did you have a cake?

 

Well, we had a party, actually, on the Thursday before. We had a Burns' Night celebration.

 

Great! So, looking back through the whiskey of that Burns' Night celebration (laughs) and through the 15 years, what would you highlight as some of the chief lessons that you've learned over that period? Either good or bad, in fact. What things have you taken on board? 

 

Well, David, 15 years has whizzed by, and it feels like we're just getting started. I set out to always try and employ people smarter than me. As you know, we've moved into a fantastic new studio at 88 Wood Street, designed by my hero practice, Rogers Stirk Harbour. And as I look around the room, I know I'm in the right room, as I'm not the smartest person in it!

 

But looking back over that period – maybe we should credit your co-founder as well, Julian Morrow – how did it all start? And again, have you learnt any bad lessons from that period? What wouldn't you have done if you'd started again? 

 

Julian and I met through the love of architecture. Neither of us knew each other before. But Julian was designing a project in Camden that I saw being built, and got in touch with him to book for a tour. We hit it off and started conversations about working together. We started to share an office, did work together and really enjoyed each other's company, and felt that we had complementary skills. So, we were lucky in that, really, from the outset, we established a brilliant working relationship built on mutual respect, and trust. And we take what we do seriously, but we don't take ourselves too seriously. 

 

Yeah. Because that can be problematic, can't it, having two names on the door? I mean, it really has to be a good relationship to last that long. What's the secret to that relationship beyond trust?

 

We come at design challenges from different perspectives, but always land up in the same space. What Julian does from a design perspective, and what I do really kind of merge together, and we have never fallen out over anything, but specifically over architecture. We're very aligned in that sense. That helps. Trust is important; we trust each other implicitly. And I think what we both realized and have always sought to do is recognize our own limitations, and surround ourselves with people who are a joy to work with, and who are inspiring in different ways. So, one of the things that has sustained our relationship is the fact that we've worked with very talented people. And that has always kept the practice fresh. We've got a really brilliant talented group of architects of all ages, who we love spending time with.

For people who don't know, how would you describe your style? What kind of architecture do you produce? And, if it has, how has that changed over that period since your inception?

 

One of the first decisions Julian and I made when it was two of us was that we would only work for serious organisations. And that hasn't always been the case (laughs)! Over the 15 years, there have been some clients and some projects, for which we hadn't realized the highest aspirations, but it's always been our intention to work with organizations who want to do things properly, who want to enjoy the process and who want to do good. Our first commission was from Land Securities. And we've set our course on only working for or trying to only seek out good people to work with and for. So in terms of how things have changed...I mean, we've always done retrofit. That's been our bread and butter…

 

Obviously, in the current market, that's very much at the forefront of most people's views, isn't it? So, you're in a good space, presumably right now? 

 

Yes, absolutely. I mean, personally, I'm really enjoying work, which hasn't always been the case. I had a really rough patch mentally, at the end of 2022. 

 

Did you?

 

Yeah, there was a lot going on with the practice. We were dealing with the hangover of the pandemic, and my mum died, which really hit me hard. So, you know, I had to take a bit of time off to recover, which Julian and the whole team were amazing with, actually. They were so supportive and just let me get myself together. 

 

Yeah.

 

So last year was the kind of recovery year, but I now feel much clearer in my purpose. It's about finding contentment in the everyday, rather than focusing on the future. So, whilst 15 years marks a milestone, and one might say, let's look to the next 15 years, I'm thinking about the next 15 minutes, or the next 15 days. Because whilst it's good to plan ahead, it can also be problematic if you think too far into the future and worry about all the issues and challenges that lie ahead.

 

We're coming up to time so perhaps my last question should be about this – we can't really talk about mental health and recovery from that, without speaking about your cycling history. I think I met you first on a bike, actually, training for my first cycle ride to MIPIM which must have been about 15 years ago, I suppose. 

 

Yeah, it probably was. 

 

So firstly, how important has that been in your own mental health but also in the business health of the practice in that period? How much has cycling been a part of that? 

 

Well, as you said, David, we've had lots of good times on two wheels and hopefully there'll be many more of those. But, as a practice we have done events – we ran a series of rides to Paris called Velo Plus, which were a lot of fun. Lots of different people from different backgrounds came together to do something, some kind of shared goal, which was really bonding. I look back to the very first Club Peloton ride and some of those contacts that I met there I still see on a weekly basis. I'm good friends with them, we work together. And yes, cycling has become almost an inherent part of who I am. It's no longer for me a kind of choice, a voluntary choice; it's just part of what I do. And it's great for just getting some headspace. It's great for meeting people. It's great for seeing new places, and it feels like a really healthy part of my life, and indeed a healthy part of the practice. There's MIPIM, just around the corner, where I'll be and spending some time riding with other Club Peloton riders; we've got the BCO conference happening this year, and also UK REIIF, all of which are events that cycling could very easily and happily fit into. But I did want to just come back to your question about how the practice has evolved and how the practice has changed. I think one of the observations that I think any fair-minded person would make about our profession is how monocultural it is… 

 

Yeah.

 

And, typically, white, middle-class male professionals. I was approached by a practice that I know and respect – the director there, Andy Whiting from HUT, who, along with Charles Bettes at GPAD, founded an initiative called Build The Way, which is a nine-month traineeship. I'd like to tell you about this because I'm really excited by it, and it really appeals to my entrepreneurial itch to get something off the ground. So, it's a nine-month entry-level architecture traineeship that provides alternative routes into the profession. We're in our proper first year, and our mission is to attract talented people of all backgrounds into the world of architecture and placemaking.

 

And you've got Iman Yasin as your first trainee?

 

Iman is our first trainee in the practice. There are four other trainees in the four practices – I didn't mention ShedKM but they are the fourth one. There are a number of things which I really love about this initiative beyond the fact that we are providing pathways into the profession for people who might otherwise not have them, such as that we get to collaborate on an initiative with other architectural practices. And that feels like the future – joining up with other organizations to collectively make a difference. And, this October, when we invite our second cohort of Build The Way trainees we will be looking for practices to join Build the Way and take trainees on for the nine month period so that invitation will be extended more broadly. But it's something that we're really excited by and have got buy-in from half a dozen central London local authorities who think this is a really good thing. 

 

Brilliant. Well, thank you very much, JJ, for all of that. Congratulations on 15 years and I’m looking forward to the next 15. You'll still be on a bike in another 15 years, I'm pretty sure, right?

 

Absolutely, David. Definitely on a bike and definitely in London, and definitely keeping it fun. Trying to keep what we do fun!

 

Great. Thanks, JJ. See you soon.

 

Cheers, David. Take care. Bye.