Welcome to the first of four issues celebrating 25 years of Paul Archer Design. I am delighted to have been asked to edit this one, ‘Spaces for Living’.
Over the course of putting these pages together, I was often reminded of a quote from Alvar Aalto: “I tell you, it is easier to build a grand opera or a city centre than to build a personal house.” His words speak to the fact that there is no building we are more invested in than the place we call home – and that’s before we pay an architect to improve it.
When we do embark on a project, not only do we have aspirations for the physical space, but for ourselves too: the life we will lead, the parties we’ll have, the tidy, organised person our new home will miraculously turn us into.
For an architect, working to that expectation can be a challenge, as Aalto expressed. But if designing a city centre is easier than designing a house it’s because where we call home has a greater impact on our day-to-day existence. The architect who understands this and meets the challenge of designing a personal house will touch their client’s everyday life in profound ways.
How do I know? “We eat together as a family now; we never used to do that.” “Our daughter has started reading thanks to the window seat in her new bedroom.” “We never spent time in the garden but improving the flow from the kitchen means we spend entire summers outside – it’s wonderful.” These are just a handful among many anecdotes like them, given by Paul Archer Design’s clients. Each one is, I think, a testament to what the practice should be most proud of over the last 25 years: improving their clients’ lives day in, day out, with thoughtful, considerate architecture. Here’s to 25 more.
When we do embark on a project, not only do we have aspirations for the physical space, but for ourselves too: the life we will lead, the parties we’ll have, the tidy, organised person our new home will miraculously turn us into.
