Dear Grandchild,
Today I was at the Greenwich Maritime Museum, for a competitive interview. I am collaborating with our friend Tanvir Hasan and her office to bid for the job of restoring and designing a new wing of the museum. This collaboration with Donald Insall Associates is a very optimistic one for me. Their office focuses on historic preservation, and does much work with castles and old houses. Many of their projects are hundreds of years old.
Why is this interesting for a young architect like me who is completely focused on innovation through design? Practically speaking, there is a good synergy here. Many restoration projects also involve upgrading amenities to modern needs and regulations. When adding new stairs or pavilions or kiosks to a historic building, sometimes it is better to do something light and contemporary, to completely contrast with the old fabric. And so these kinds of structures can be designed by me.
At a deeper philosophical level, there is something more to be gained by this collaboration. My goal is not to make buildings that look futuristic, but to design for our future generations. I want to design buildings not just for all of us now, but for you and all of your friends and colleagues, and even for your children and grandchildren. To achieve this, first of all my design has to have staying power. It must be robust enough that people want to preserve it rather than knocking it down and building something new again. And secondly it must be detailed and constructed in a way that can really last.
Tanvir and her colleagues at Donald Insall Associates have a deep understanding of both of these qualities. The buildings they restore were the most innovative and excellent buildings of the eras when they were built. Through the process of careful conservation and restoration, Tanvir and her colleagues have absorbed an incredible amount of knowledge about materials, technology, and time in architecture.
Although I use new materials and new techniques, I also want to know how I can make buildings that can last for generations.
All best wishes to you. Your grandfather. 6 April 2015
