The Orator.Press Magazine Business & Leadership Interview: Michael Squire ~ September 2020

The Global Response To The Police Brutality Murder of George Floyd

Picking up on His Point About Being Home Like Never Before, I Share Something The Reverand Al Sharpton Said Regarding George Floyd’s Murder. One Reason The Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) & Social Justice Movement Went Stratospheric Like It Has, Is Because The World Was Universally At Home In A Way It Had Never Been Before & Was Therefore Able To Pay Attention & Galvanize In Ways It Had Not Been Able To Before. The World Was Largely Locked Down & off Work Due To Corona Virus. This Unforeseeable Collision of Two Defining Events of 2020 (The Corona Virus & The Police Brutality Murder of George Floyd) Are Proving To Be Two of The Most Momentous Events In History.

He Says “The Fact That The Murder Was Filmed From Beginning To End Is Enormously Significant. There Is Much Negative About Social Media, However What Is Positive Is That Describing Something To Someone May Lay Itself Open To Accusations of Exaggeration, However In This Case We Have Clear Unarguable Evidence Which Was Able To Be Sent Around The World”.

The Family Business

My Research Tells Me That Your Grandfather, Sir John Squire, A Poet, Managed To Make A Working Connection Between His Love Of Classic Literature & His Appreciation of Georgian Architecture, By Co-Founding The Architecture Club.

Plus Your Father, Raglan Squire, In 1952 Established Raglan Squire & Partners. It Was Involved In The Redevelopment of Eaton Square Houses Into Apartments, At A Time When WW2 Recovery Programme Was Still Underway & A Lack Of Housing & Materials Meant Architectural Solutions Were Necessary.

This Was After Raglan Squire & Partners Had Been Working With ‘Prefab Arcon Houses’ During 1945-1949 As Part Of A Government Housing Drive In The Much More Modest Section Of The Housing Market. Comparing The Different Sections of The Property Market He Developed A Greater Appreciation For The Beauty of Design on One Hand & Commercial Interests of Developers On The Other. Plus A Combined Respect For Both, As A Solution To The Dual Role He Found Himself In. 

I Always Enjoyed Drawing And Art.

Property Creative, Michael Squire, Talking To TheOrator.Press During Telephone Interview Lockdown June 2020

Did The Family History Give You Confidence To Find Your Own Design Style?

“It Was An Advantage Seeing The Experiences Of My Father. Seeing Him Go Up & Down Meant It Was Not A Surprise When It Happened To Me. So Many Things I Did I Had Seen Happen Before. My Father Wanted Me To Join Him In His Firm Which Was Established & With Older Partners But I Wanted To Find My Own Road. It Was A Slow & Difficult Road Initially, With Kitchen & Bathroom Extensions. We Still Don’t Always Get To Do Our Own Work.”

“I Always Enjoyed Drawing & Art. Actually The View From Dad Was Trying To  Put Me Off By Making Clear That A Good Living Was Not Guaranteed From Architecture.  But I Always Understood Architecture. My Father Would Point Out Certain Buildings & Details Etc.”

“Really Deep In My Soul I Love What I Do. It Always Gives Me A Buzz To Design Something New. But There Is A Real Monstrous Journey Between That & Building The Building, Such As Actually Building It, Planning Permission & Regulations.”

“I Have A Brother (Retired Now) & He Never Went Into Architecture. He Preferred Engineering & Figures & Worked For A Property Development Company.”

Did You Work Together At All or Was It More of A Case of You Avoiding Each Other Due To Sibling Rivalries & The Like?

“It Was More of A Case of Us Avoiding Each Other As It Would Have Been Too Obvious.”

“Property Developers & Designers Are Quite Reliant On Each Other. Some Firms Are Very Design Led & Not Interested In The Commercial Side Of Things. The Commercial Side Involves The Property Developer Making A Return On His Investment In A Project. However As A Designer I Think It Is Important To Try & Convince The Property Developer That Good Design & Architecture Can Be To Their Advantage. Designers Can Be Dependent On A Property Developer Coming Through The Door & Asking For Help With A Property Project. So Design Can Now Be A Key Issue In Getting What The Developer Wants. “

Squire Is In This Way Describing A Kind Of Symbiosis Between Designer & Developer. A More Holistic Approach If You Will. No Doubt This Perspective Has Been Able To Develop From Observing The Aforementioned Work His Father Did After The War.

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