Submission by Tonkin Liu.
Being a good ancestor
Practice
1. Do you have a clearly stated purpose aligned with the planetary emergency? We’re looking for a bold ambition here, and a culture which recognises the need for long-term thinking.
Architects are often given incomplete briefs. For the start of every project, we precede the design stage with two stages, the first two of our design process: Asking, Looking Playing Making. These involve collective questioning with our client and design team, spanning a diverse spectrum of mindsets through the three perspectives of nature, people, and place. We take the brief apart, core down to different aspects and into first principles, expand on all the qualities that are unique to the project. Long-term thinking requires architects to do the right thing: design the right thing, construct the right thing. Our process endeavours to uncover what is the best thing – for this place, for these people, for nature, at this moment in time, and for centuries to come ? We observe its present, we research its past, we imagine its future, and put the brief back together as a aspirational, architectural mission.
2. Do you have a clearly stated purpose aligned with the planetary emergency? We’re looking for a bold ambition here, and a culture which recognises the need for long-term thinking.
We are now a micro practice, having had many projects put on hold. We work closely with an extensive network of collaborators nurtured through more than two decades of practice, research , teaching. These individuals range from ones who work in multi-national firms to SMEs. What is consistent about them i is the care they put into their work, and their ability to engage in lateral and holistic thinking in our design process. Each collaborator thinks from the perspective of his/her own discipline and beyond, towards an integrated whole. We work with Quantity Surveyors who care about the capital costs, the running costs, and considers the long-term costs to the wider planetary context. We work with Horticulturalists who care about what plants do, not just what they look like. We work with Project Managers who develop assessment tools that show the inter-connections between social, environmental and financial statistics.
3. Do you share research and knowledge for the benefit of society and the wider world?
The RIBA publication “Asking Looking Playing Making: a nature-focused design process” has given us a vehicle to engage educators and practitioners. We’ve given lectures for the RIBA, Temple Bar, Dialogues, Docomomo, and Arup. Spending 7 weeks in India, we gave lectures in: Univeristy of Roorkee, Chandigarh, Design Mumbai Conference, and design reviews at CEPT. We led a day-long design workshop in Udaipur for a group of young architects and local residents, focusing on a prominent public park site, culminating in the group presenting their designs to 40 city elders. In March, we spent a month in Taiwan, visiting and lecturing at four universities: Jiao Tung, Shi Chien, Cheng Kung, and Ke Ji. We led a 3-day design workshop for the Confucius Temple, organising collective and team brainstorming that yielded sketch proposals. These were presented to the CEO of the temple, sparking interesting and passionate discussions about heritage, design, and place-making.
Project
1. Do you advocate for long-term thinking at the outset of work? Do you initiate work with long-term thinking and challenge clients? Also, can the organisation demonstrate that this approach has worked?
The Asking stage of Asking Looking Playing Making effectively challenges the client’s brief and unearths its myriad of challenges and potentials. This gives the brief back to the client in a from with a broadened and long-term perspective. The question of Asking involves time: past, present, future, leading to a design continuum: build on the uniqueness of the past, amplify the strength of the present, and catapult into a future that is foreseeably full of extreme challenges: environmental, social, and economic. This often leads to an optimised, economic design proposition that nevertheless broadens its remit from purely a building to a connected, holistic entity, in its context of landscape and infrastructure. The process inevitably brings art into the design, imbuing it with a new, legible community identity that endures. Each project demands its own, fit-for-purpose, rightful, design response, at its particular moment in time, for its particular group of people.
2. Does your work take account of the future climate and the need for resilience?
Our work proactively preempts and integrates the full process: from user-specificity to innovative engineering and construction. We engage with end users, with consultants, and with fabricators as early as possible. This enables us to learn insights about the project that would shape our choices in its form, construction, material, and spatial configurations. The aim is to create economic, optimum, robust, and well-integrated design solutions. In this process, creativity is applied in every aspect of consideration: of client ethos, of the evolution of different users groups over time, of architectural forms that maximise strength thus minimising material usage, of techniques of construction that minimise material wastage. Examples include modularity, geometric systemisation, exploration and knowledge of the materiality and reusability of constructional form-works. To create an architecture that isn’t just about the aesthetics, architects must observe a place’s social dynamics, and embrace the realities and the creative potentials in engineering and construction.
3. Does the majority of your work go beyond mitigating negatives and towards optimising positives?
The biggest modal shift in our thinking should be to defy siloed thinking, to enable holistic thinking. Many environmental issues and concerns are currently being addressed with piece-meal, box-ticking, point-scoring solutions that are in themselves wasteful and potentially abortive. Architects are well-placed to tackle these problems in a much more integrated, long-term, series of solutions. The realities of our physical world are intimately inter-connected, across a vast temporal and spatial span. Some are visible, most not. Architects should understand these interconnections, to repair, reinforce, and reimagine them. Equipped with advanced digital skills, with imagination, with practical knowledge of materiality and construction, architects also understand the needs and behaviours of people and their communities in a variety of spatial typologies. We are currently working on a project related to water which joins parameters of geology, topography, economics of the farming communities, water shortage, flooding, soil poverty, biodiversity poverty, industrial waste-polluted land.
Co-evolving with nature
Practice
1. Do you use biophilia within your premises and/or do you regularly gather in natural settings?
All of our projects endeavour to integrate elements of nature: rainwater, sunlight, wind. Nature gives these to us generously for free. Architects increasingly utilise them as sources of energy, precious resources not to be taken granted of, and to be used consciously and carefully. We also consider them as sources of joy and sensory delight: sight, smell, sound, taste, touch, markers of the passage of time. Many of our projects amplify these elements and make them integral to the architecture. For a public square project in London, we proposed something that went above and beyond the brief, winning the high-profiled international competition. The design focused on water. Polluted run-off from surrounding streets enter the square, trickles through new bio-diverse planting which cleanses it, whilst gathering more water. The water is then directed towards the centre, where an underground cistern collects and stores it for reuse.
2. Can you share examples of where you have considered nature in decision making?
The aforementioned project engaged local communities in the design remit focused on water. A thorough consultation period culminated in a set of communities priorities including: “to hear, see, and touch water,” and ” water is a precious resource.” Corner pavilions were designed with a conical roof that directed fallen rainwater towards fonts which, at eye level, enable people to enjoy the texture and sound of water, whilst forming bird baths. Around the central open lawn, a rill of trickling water trickles enhances the threshold for stepping onto the flowering lawn. Rainwater enters the underground amphitheatre through a set of apertures, landing onto the surface of the cistern. The texture of the rain creates a pattern of light and movement. This underground space, called the “Hidden Garden,” nurtures a set of primordial planting specific to the micro-climate, and forms a new civic space that could be used for coolth, music, shelter.
3. Are you supporting nature locally and nationally?
Cities face pressing environmental extremes of excess and scarcity, which green spaces can play a vital role in mitigating. Drought, deluge, flooding, overstressed drainage systems, heatwave, storm, air pollution, biodiversity loss, rising water and energy bills, are some of these challenges. Continuing our exploration of green and blue values, we developed a design template. building on the history and current state of the squares. This was published in a British Library publication. Once thriving centres for community and culture, many gardens have suffered from decades of neglect, overcrowding, traffic, and biodiversity loss. Beautiful large mature trees lining the boundaries have outgrown them, typified by broken railings and cracked concrete up-stands. Our project proposes smart, ecological gardens with technologically advanced water and energy infrastructure. The design aids SuDs, captures, cleanses, and stores rainwater underground. Solar and geothermal energy integrate the green space and the surrounding buildings.
Project
1. Can you demonstrate work that strives to match the performance of a mature ecosystem?
A current project on the Thames riverside uncovered rare species on site, which our design has ensured would propagate and be enriched in the future. The park originally opened in 1906, combining a picturesque pleasure garden with other leisure facilities. Rising sea levels meant the beach was regularly submerged, which eventually led to its abandonment, and the subsequent construction of a new sea wall by the EA, disconnecting people from the shores. This however meant that certain rare species from the tidal Thames estuary have been able to thrive. The complex web of habitats uncovered range from modified grassland, native hedgerow, bramble scrub, to mixed scrub, intertidal mudflats, and coastal salt marsh. Our proposed planting toolkit includes a number of plants in each of these typologies: flowering grassland, coastal vegetated shingle, species-rich native hedgerow, and native shrub.
2. Are you working on material stewardship?
We have been applying circular principles related to energy, water, and material. Water, heat, and coolth are captured and reused, rather than lost. Collaborating with another design studio, we proposed the design for a system of parts that can utilise a toxic byproduct of aluminium production, called Red Mud. Beyond tableware. Red mud (bauxite residue) is highly alkaline and produces up to 2 tonnes of waste per 1 tonne of aluminum. More than 4 billion tonnes of red mud have accumulated globally, in the form of embankments – tailing dams – the tallest being 77 metres. Our proposal is a three-dimensional tile with numerous uses: for the garden, as a domestic roofing, river edges, and as a revetment (sloped wall) forming coastal bioremediation and flood protection. The design is scalable and modular. Each tile is profiled and they can be joined together to hold water and habitat or let planting push through.
3. Does the majority of your work demonstrate the use of biologically-inspired approaches such as Bioregionalism, Biophilia or Biomimicry?
All of our projects connect to nature in multiple spatial and temporal scales. These fall into four categories. Firstly, the native setting, the geography which encompasses all non-human parameters on site: topography, geology, horticulture and biology. The designs either frame these or directly integrate them into the fabric of the architecture. Secondly, the elements: rain, sunlight, wind. These are harnessed and amplified, to become an integral part of the design and to animate the inert architectural entity. Thirdly, symbols – nature offers an array of symbols and stories that have connected the human psyche to nature from time immemorial. A project that draws on symbols from nature creates an accessible, unifying, and integral identity for the community. Fourthly, structural and systems lessons from nature can directly inform the design principles. Rather than directly copying nature, we abstract particular principles which are then applied to form many of our biomimetic projects.
Creating a just space for people
Practice
1. Do you have a progressive EDI policy and can you evidence many forms of diversity, which are welcomed and acknowledged, within your company/organisation?
Our aim for the EDI policy is to be proactive and empowering. Architecture is an enriching lifelong journey. We are a small practice that encourages each employee to seek out what would be the most fulfilling for their journey, fulfilling evident and latent potentials. For more than two decades, our studio has combined practice with research and teaching. This has given us insight on the demographics of those who pursue architecture, which has evolved towards homogeneity. This is detrimental to the architectural field’s creativity and drive. Our current early-years education unfortunately creates a siloed perspective, between art and science. This does not encourage the understanding of architecture. To ensure that architecture is inclusive of women, people of colour, and people who are from under-privileged social background, access to architecture should start as early as primary school age level. This will help remove the obstacles and mystery of the profession.
2. Do you operate a no overtime culture, meet the living wage consistently, and stipulate a fair salary ratio between staff of all levels?
We stipulate to all members of staff that they should leave the studio at 6pm. Overtime culture is counter-productive to architecture. Lengthy hours in front of computer terminals do not create exemplary architects nor exemplary architecture. Our salary system is transparent to all, and discussed with all, as is our finance system: fees, expenses, hours spent. Each project leader helps build the fee proposal that becomes the agreement with the client. The project leader then manages the fees and hours, and is well aware of the gaps that creep up through unforeseen delays, client changes, cost overruns. This forms part of the architects’ training and skillset – managing time and tasks. Therefore, all members of staff are conscious of difficult times when bonuses are not possible, and of good times when bonuses are shared out in equitable and clearly communicated ratios. Our salary levels meet the living wage level.
3. Do you support charities, community groups, social enterprises, action groups and others through pro-bono work, charitable giving or in-kind donations?
By helping others, we help ourselves. Amongst the organisations and charities we give time to have been: Moorfields Eye Hospital, Travel Hands (walking guides for the visually impaired), St Mungo’s, and Body and Soul (local charity for trauma). Our continued involvement the charity Open City provides perspectives on how to make our city more open, accessible, and legible. The programme engages schoolchildren and the elderly, identifying people from all age groups with interest in the built environment. Our team mentors aspiring architects who are younger than them, which has been empowering and liberating. We undertake pro-bono work in order to help a client in the early stages of a community project. An example is a bridge for the charity, Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, consisting of scientists, conservationists, gardeners, local residents including children. We helped fundraise for the project and deliver the bridge within a small budget.
4. Do you use an ethical framework to assess opportunities and/or supply chain partners and is them team consulted on these decisions?
Shared values with our partners and supply chain partners are explicit in an ethical framework reflecting the priorities in the three pillars of nature, people, place, explicit in every design project. Our partners all demonstrate the care that we expect of all of our team, the willingness to go that extra mile, to think about others, and to think holistically and long-term. We encourage the practice of shared resources and tools with our neighbours and nearby architectural practices. Our approach to supply chain is to be local and to minimise waste. In the past years, we have continued to strengthen the bond and exchange between local businesses and our practice. We have seen local business struggling and have been supportive of them. We purchase our stationery and pantry supplies from the local news agent, to whom we feel grateful and connected during difficult times in Covid and lockdown.
Project
1. Does your work demonstrate deep engagement with local stakeholders and end users?
The community charity group driving forward the bridge project approached us seeking advice and help many years before the project began. We assessed the viability of two different locations, different bridge sizes, budges, as well as benefits of other landscaping strategies that may bring about greater change. The result was a small yet impactful project. By helping with the early strategies, and with local fundraising activities, plus the GLA funding application, we were able to widen and bolster the network of the interested local community. When the design took form, and the project was further disseminated in the local area, a fabricator who was based locally approached us, offering to take on the fabrication and installation of the bridge. Since its completion we’ve taken part in further generating interests by organising Heritage Open Days, London Festival of Architecture events, attended by architects, scientists, conservationists, gardeners, past and current local residents.
2. Does your work create connected and resilient communities which positively contribute to neighbourhoods and allow equality of access?
Our very first public realm project was an exemplary case of intense collaboration between the Council’s project managers and engineers, the Community Group’s local priorities, and the architects’ continued involvement from competition to completion. This spirit has carried through to the contractor, who built it with great care, and to the Council team who has been maintaining the space. Finally, members of the public, who are ultimately the true collaborators behind the success of a public space, have also expressed immense pride in the space that they use everyday. The design, by engaging the user groups, created pockets where smaller communities of activities can take place. The project has been used as a case study by the Greater London Authority in their “Manifesto for Public Space,” spurring improvements in the wider context including a youth centre for music, a new bridge, and a new tube station entrance.
3. Does the majority of your work promote equity in society, and consider all people, not only building inhabitants
Promoting equality begins with the evolution and assertion of trust. The proposed project for British Library set an ambition to address social isolation and inequality. Removing and greening the boundaries of green spaces makes them accessible for all, from all directions, whilst also benefiting the planting and the mature trees. Inhabited green spaces create safe and vibrant spaces, with natural surveillance during all hours of the day. Within the green space, a variety of “outdoor rooms” are created, to host a spectrum of activities from the quiet to the athletic, from the individual to the mass gathering, from the everyday to the seasonal festivities, from information exchange to resource exchange. People can meet, socialise, and organise collective resources and actions. Neighbours will gather to share food, clothing, tasks, water, energy, cultural celebrations, knowledge, tales of challenges and joys, building a thriving foundation of solidarity and human resilience.