Works 2000-2009
There were buildings designed and executed between 1996 and 2000 that followed the philosophy and theoretical position developed since the inception of the practice, that is, architecture as primarily a spatial exercise. But, as with most careers, personal life at times intervenes and takes precedence, and in my case, the sudden death of my father in 1996 left me devastated. This personal loss coincided with the period of recession that resulted in the collapse of many industries and individuals. So things slowed down. But the wheel turns, and a time of opportunity and optimism revived us.
By 2000, 15 years of practice had taught us several things beyond some valuable lessons gained from making mistakes and those that come with making joyous discoveries. the practice shifted between highs and lows, but in time we established a modus operandi for running the office and organising its functioning, executing projects onsite, and design processes in the studio. We realised with some pride that our initial concerns of climate, context and material were indeed of immense value to the projects. these concerns proved and justified the works that followed from 2004 to 2012. they can be seen as part of the tradition of the practice, a vision we had anticipated at the outset while not necessarily understanding its implications or how it was to be achieved. Apart from these perhaps old school criteria, we also had the opportunity to explore and learn from new areas of knowledge with specialised consultants, different contractors and others. Yet the ideals we had set down in our early works were being reinforced. the practice learned, and is still learning, that architecture was, is and will remain primarily a spatial exercise involving quality of light and rational structure suitably embedded in context. i also realised that running a practice was itself a never-ending project. We run the practice as openly as possible – even though it is under single ownership. the practice still has a way to go, and perhaps allows more associates and limited partnerships in order to expand further. the works of the first ten years of the new millennium demonstrate the challenges of complex contexts and the wider scope of the built environment. this phase of our work is dominated by projects with varied programs and significantly larger scale.
26 Works 2000-2009
