From Kings Cross To Brixton.
You Started Out Your Business In Pimlico In 1976. 12 Years Later In 1988 You Moved To South Kensington.
13 Years Later In 2001 You Moved To Kings Cross In Central London. 14 Years Later In 2015 You Moved To Brixton. So Why Brixton – Do You Like It & Does It Like You?
“We Lived In Clapham Anyway & The Kids Had Enjoyed Some Good Nights Out In Brixton. It’s Not Just A Commercial Location. It Has Character. Markets. Facilities. Connections. The Victoria Line Is Connected To All Other Lines. We Do Feel Connected. A Client Even Bought A Building Here Recently.”
“We Have Been Warmly Received. We Did Make An Enormous Effort To Connect With The Community & Local People, Including Offering Work Spaces To Other Businesses (Such As Pure Vinyl Records), Working With Schools, & Our Windows At Christmas. We Try To Include Fun. Julia’s Team In PR Has Done Well. We Have A Great Relationship.”
(Also Based On The Site Are ‘Mammal’ Brand Experts & Advisors, Canova Hall Bar & Restaurant, Which Includes A Hot Desking Facility, Kaboola Catering, Volcano Coffee Works, And The Exhibition & Events Space ‘Downstairs’ At The Department Store. And The Squire & Partners Are In Between.)
Is There A Particular Language Reflected In Your Design Approach?
“In Our Architecture We Use The Tree As A Symbolic Reference Point & Use Language Around It. We See The Roots As The Past & The Branches As The Future. We Take The Associated Area & History Into Account & Develop A More Contemporary Perspective. We Don’t Pull Up The Whole Tree & Turn The Roots Upside Down. But We Do Build on The Branches.”
Do You Seek To Get A Particular Balance of Members In The Upstairs At The Department Store Club & If So What Is It & How Do You Do It?
“Initially We Were Not Sure Anybody Would Want To Come. Anthenaeum Has A Tie Policy. Soho House Has A No Suits Policy. Both Could Be Seen As Pretentious. Our Big Rule Is Civility. Respect Staff Members. Respect Neighbours. If You Don’t Do That You Get Your Money Back. Respect Other Members.There Is A Judging Panel Process. It’s All About Finding Like Minded People. I Find People Who Disagree With Me More Interesting.”
I Take My Cue To Raise Two Points About The Club...
The Club Does Not Supply Wifi Because It Wants People To Talk To Each Other. Members Are Grown Ups & By Virtue of The Fact That They Managed To Become Members Surely They Have A Reasonable Degree of Discernment, Sense & Sensibility. If They Wish To Talk To Other People They Will. If They Don’t They Won’t. Anything Forced Is Not Usually Fun. After All They Applied To Join A Social Club All By Themselves. So, Can We Please Get WiFi Now? Or Is It As I Suspect, That The Logistics Just Didn’t Allow It? You’re A Whizz At All Things Property & Contemporary. Please Make It Happen! I Would Come Here So Much More If I Could Work Here As Well.
“The Building Has Perfectly Good WiFi. We Know People Love Being on Devices. But We Want To People Communicate With People. When You Are Here We Want You To Put Work Behind You. Loads of People Connecting In An Introverted Space Is Not What We’re About. You Have To Have Principles.”
“It’s All About Finding Like Minded People. I Find People Who Disagree With Me More Interesting.”
Michael Squire. Talking Paradoxically To TheOrator.Press, June 2020
Unisex Loos. I Have To Say As A Lady I Seriously Dislike Them & As A Lawyer I Feel They Are A Legal Case Waiting To Happen. Why Are They So Prevalent Now? Can We Ever Go Back To The Time Honored Social Custom Of Girls Going Off Together & Getting Away From The Boys – Who, Let’s Face It, Fundamentally Have Totally Different Toilet Habits & Hygiene Standards To Girls, Be They In Posh Clubs, Bath Tubs Or Anywhere In The World – Fact! -?
“Gender Neutral Toilets. I’m Not A Fan Myself. We Had To Extend The Kitchen Space. So Given The Layout of The Building The Area Originally Allocated For Separate Facilities Had To Go.”
Competition & Collaboration
Sir David Adjaye is one of the best architects of our time. Have you guys ever collaborated?
“There Are So Many Architects It Is Very Competitive. There Can Even Be A Lot of People Competing on One Property Development Project As There Are Different Aspects To It For Instance. We Have Not Collaborated But We Have Both Been on The Same Project Competition Before & We Wished Him Well.”
Thank You For Your Time. It’s Been A Pleasure.
“Thank You”
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