Jo Cowen, Principal CEO and Founder of Jo Cowen Architects, has built one of London’s most forward-thinking practices by putting people and technology at its core.
She is therefore the perfect subject for the first in our series of interviews with 'Heroes of Architecture’, having pioneered the use of everything from VR and AR to MMC and modular construction.
Since launching eight years ago, Jo Cowen Architects has built a diverse portfolio of residential, commercial, and mixed use architecture projects across the capital and beyond. Cowen is an expert in new architecture trends and techniques, even launching her own real estate investment platform in 2017. Today, she oversees a team of more than 35 architects, producing some of the UK’s most innovative and sustainable building designs.
Jo, you’ve previously utilised modular technology and other modern methods of construction (MMC) in your designs, notably for City Wharf in Islington. What are the virtues of these technologies and what other applications do you see for them going forward?
MMC is the future. It's the only way that ultimately developers can compete with house builders by developing their own product, because you aren't fully reliant on the traditional contractor. We are in the process of creating nearly 2,000 modular, volumetric and panelised housing projects across the country, which are being built in three UK factories.
The key benefit is the ability to create a more ecologically sustainable and precise product. Take hospitals and schools as an example. Just recently in Hubei Province, China, they needed to build a 1,000-unit hospital to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. They did that in just ten days because they brought in all the rooms, fully-fitted and built offsite.
Overall, the rest of the world is miles ahead of where we are in the UK. To date, the Japanese have built more than 10 million homes, we've built about 200,000. In the USA, you can buy 50 different MMC houses and people actually prefer to build that way. Considering the precision it provides, the rest of the world finds it odd that we Brits still build houses traditionally.
You’re a strong proponent of utilising Apple VR to bring a building to life. Tell me a little more about the VR app that was created for your design of The View in Battersea. How did it come about and what benefits did you see?
It is an amazing app that was built by a company called Grain. It allows you to place an object in the middle of a table, such as a 3D building design. You can then simulate walking through the building using your phone.
It makes international sales much smoother because you can show buyers in Asia the entire building remotely. VR will become absolutely standardised in design going forward, despite currently being on the expensive side. We found that it was an amazing way to get pre-sales on The View and I can only see that becoming more widespread and accessible.
“Just recently in Hubei Province, China, they needed to build a 1,000-unit hospital to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. They did that in just ten days because they brought in all the rooms, fully-fitted and built offsite. “
How do you feel the architect’s role in designing for the end-user has changed in the last ten years, particularly in build-to-rent and co-working properties? What role do you think technology will play in its continued evolution?
Our biggest business growth area is build-to-rent, it includes all of our biggest projects such as a 506-unit design in Kingston, West London.
These projects are driven by a hospitality model, much like coworking. The spatial experience and journey through the building is much closer to that of somebody in a hotel than in a traditional residential space.
You design that very differently. You have the ability to design everything from how people's shopping is delivered to where their bikes are kept. The technological element of that process is huge, because we're using many apps and operating systems to create communities. These include operational platforms like Yardi, Tipi and Get Living. We want to empower people to connect with everyone else in the building, so they can find out things like: “can somebody walk my dog for me while I’m out?”
It's the same with coworking. The real design skill is in looking at how you can stimulate culture in a building and get people to want to work there for longer, even though they're typically on shorter tenancies.
Speaking of forging connections, in your opinion, how important is building a professional network in growing a successful practice? How can technology help architects build connections within the industry?
It’s really important and not just from a principle point of view. Everyone in the team needs to feel pride from their job. They also need to understand the value in sharing ideas across their profession. Whether that’s from other consultants, developers, investors, end users or engineers, we all need to come together to solve problems.
“It's tough to grow, retain and bring in projects. But overall it's about strengthening relationships as much as possible and presenting your ideas to the right people.”
However, I think what’s really lacking is a professional-to-professional tech platform to connect and talk about major architectural discussion points. Twitter isn’t quite the right forum, LinkedIn still can't shake that feeling that it's just an address book.
It'd be amazing to have access to authoritative sources to ask even simple questions like “how have you developed this cladding solution that utilises more ecological materials?” I think that ability to share and then recommend is an area that tech can make a huge difference in.
Many architects struggle to transition from residential-only projects to a diverse portfolio of architectural disciplines. How did you scale your business and what hurdles did you have to overcome? Do you have any advice for practices going through this process?
I wouldn't say diversifying is the easiest thing in the world. It's tough to grow, retain and bring in projects. But overall it's about strengthening relationships as much as possible and presenting your ideas to the right people.
“For me, a modern studio is one that doesn't see themselves as traditional architects. The whole profession is changing and we have to be more co-aligned with our clients, not sitting separately from them. “
We went down a number of routes. One was sheer door knocking. But another way to expand your portfolio is by incorporating elements of the projects you’d like to start working on into existing mixed use schemes.
Once you've done a pavilion on one scheme as part of a housing development, then you utilise that to try to grow something else. Sadly, the industry is so cautious that they often want people who've done it before. As a result, they miss out on fresh talent that would think about things in a different way.
Is there a particular architect or modern studio that you would like to pick the brains of? In your opinion, what defines a truly modern studio?
There are countless practices that I massively admire for different reasons. Piercy and Co are absolutely brilliant and I'd love to talk to HTA about the challenges that they're finding with MMC and using technology. Sheppard Robson are also doing a brilliant job on their projects, particularly across incorporating sustainability and wellness into their process.
For me, a modern studio is one that doesn't see themselves as traditional architects. The whole profession is changing and we have to be more co-aligned with our clients, not sitting separately from them. It's not a case of: he has a brief, you design a building, you give them back some designs and your work is done. I think we need to be better at curating that brief and really understanding the human demographics we’re designing for.
Always put people at the heart of what you're doing and ask yourself: “would I want to live there?” I think this helps you keep abreast of what you’re doing and resist defining yourself by the standard. Our role goes a long way beyond the standard RIBA work stages.