Crafting

Introduction

We have been designing successful homes since Eric Parry founded the firm in 1983. On each occasion, we start by building up a relationship of trust, where our clients feel we listen to their concerns and understand the sort of lifestyle they want. In return we offer them our knowledge of the construction industry and how to unlock its potential. In collaboration with our clients we design homes which are modern, functional and beautiful – and tailored to individual needs.

Our residential projects include specially crafted homes for individual clients, as well as developments with a range of options for prospective residents to choose from. Some are new build; others adapt or extend existing buildings. They vary in size from small apartments to large houses, in location from inner cities to expansive landscapes, and in climate from the temperate UK to tropical extremes. The many nationalities and backgrounds represented in our studio broaden our insight into different cultures and the best each can offer.

Using our experience, we guide our clients, whatever their expertise, through the complexity of planning and construction while keeping a sharp focus on their aspirations and ambitions. Through many types of building procurement, we have worked with a wide range of construction methods and materials, from the sensuality of hand-crafted objects, surfaces and shapes, to the quality and satisfying precision of machine-made products and materials. Our designs seek to forge these physical elements into a joyous combination of space, light, materials and textures – with an effect which complements the wider opportunities offered by the setting and its context. Underpinning the design and construction process of every project is our grasp of cost control and management. We take particular satisfaction in collaborating with artists and craftspeople whose work can expand the imaginative possibilities and physical pleasures of new homes. As well as selecting and commissioning art, furnishing and fittings for our clients, we have also designed around their existing collections.

Homes should be places where everyday activities combine with intellectual and sensory delights to make the ordinary pleasurable, to provide a carapace where we can be alone or socialise with family or friends, and where we can enjoy art, music and literature – or simply the subliminal qualities of craft. We set out to create spatial frameworks where these conditions can come into being around individual wishes.

Crafting

Our service includes designing special products for individual buildings. These objects take their place in a framework which reinforces enjoyment in domestic settings.

Our door handle is shaped to feel comfortable in the hand when gripped, and to have just the right amount of firmness when depressed. It turns a necessary, quotidian function into a pleasurable moment. Fabrics, too, in their combination of tactile and visual sensations, add to the warmth and intimacy of domestic interiors, just as they can humanise corporate or public spaces. They can affect the sense of light and sound to transform rooms from one use to another.

Furniture also suggests how a room might be used and complements social interaction or private contemplation with appropriate physical comfort. Homes have particular practical needs, such as kitchens, bathrooms and storage. We have undertaken studies to ensure that we understand how these can be met – and in meeting them can be enhanced to bring a sense of personal fulfilment.

The sourcing of fibres in response to an idea of the sensory and haptic quality of the hanging starts with visits to the European textile fairs. Choices develop into working drawings, discussions with weavers and the production of samples. Here the master weaver in her studio begins the stage of implementation. The nylon warp and metal weft of a sophisticated double weave create the billowing effect of the final loom width hangings seen overleaf.

Detail view of the hand crafted, loom wide, hangings of the reception space of 5 Aldermanbury Square in the City of London.

Design drawing for the two mirrored reception space rugs at 5 Aldermanbury Square in the City of London. Images of both sides of the loom in a village near Izmir, Turkey where the hand knotted rugs were produced with age old skills handed down through countless generations.

The Vigilia bench was originally commissioned as a set of benches for a small newly-built chapel in the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. It was designed in two sizes, a three-person (illustrated) and a two-person. Both are robust but light enough to be easily moved. The steam bent spindles make its fabrication a tour de force of the furniture maker’s art, and the benches are only produced in limited editions to order.

The Z Handle has been in production for five years and is the first of a series of ironmongery products under development.

The intention was to adsorb the normal clutter of door ironmongery into a single element. It resolves the vertical lock plate with the horizontal handle through the shadow and form of the geometric casting that echoes the applied thrust and movement. It is produced at different sizes and in different alloys including nickel and stainless steel.