At Ackroyd Lowrie, learning happens every day – co-founder Jonathan Ackroyd wouldn’t have it any other way.
An alumnus of Cardiff and the University of Westminster, Ackroyd established AL in 2014 with fellow ex-Architype staffer Oliver Lowrie.
Today it’s a distinguished boutique practice of 15 specialising in regenerative urban builds such as Alva North, a sprawling King’s Cross complex set to be a Fashion Week destination, with co-working space, production suites, a hangar-sized photographic studio doubling as an events venue, and 60-cover restaurant with a lit aesthetic as nourishing as anything on the menu.
How has Ackroyd Lowrie used technology to enhance its offering?
The new wave of technology has allowed a much greater level of understanding. We use virtual reality sign-offs, take our clients through the design and test it on a 1:1 scale, so they actually get to understand the building before it gets built.
This new technology has allowed us to get into the building, go around and see its facets and test it. For some people who don’t particularly like the technology – headsets and the like – we also print the model.
How did you arrive at the decision to use VR?
Virtual reality was a very big success – one of our clients went inside a model, looked at it and cried because he was so excited about seeing his vision of the building.
That made us realise we were on to something and that’s where we started looking at integrating VR into our processes, and many different things that we do in terms of our processes have come out of that.
“One of our clients went inside a VR model, looked at it and cried because he was so excited about seeing his vision of the building.”
Twenty years ago, emerging practices had a very different energy to those making their names today, such as Ackroyd Lowrie. Why is that?
There’s an entrepreneurial energy around the people we know and those we connect with, which crosses into the art field as well.
Historically, architects weren’t allowed to invest in their projects and architects worked for set fees. When that was ditched, architects became so competitive that fees eroded and created a huge problem in the industry. Since we can invest in our own schemes, there’s now the potential to realise value through good design.
Is there a particular kind of structure you find difficult to bring to life?
Organisational?
Being quite ambitious, we set up a construction company called Alt-C – Alternative Construction – because we wanted to revolutionise the construction industry. We don’t run it anymore; instead we work with Weaver and a project management team based upstairs which allows us to focus on the architecture.
The partnership of skills between architects and master builders is misunderstood in the modern age – but it’s a really important idea.
Master builders train as carpenters, while we train as designers with spatial understanding.
Bringing the two together is where you can get really exciting things happening.
“Partnership of skills between architects and master builders is misunderstood in the modern age – but it’s a really important idea… Bringing the two together is where you can get really exciting things happening.”
How do you see architects and builders educating one another with the goal of raising quality?
If you can act in harmony and bring builders in early, you can end up with some fascinating solutions.
It’s about communication and socialisation: part of the problem is that, historically, architects and builders don’t talk to one another. We’ve been getting people together in our own building: we’ve got two contractors, project managers, planning consultants and us.
One of your practice specialisms is repurposing buildings to meet 21st Century demands. What challenges are always present?
You never know what you’re going to get with an old building until you open it up.
At Alva North, I wanted to keep all the existing trussing and steelwork, so I brought the foundation a metre down while digging underneath.
We underpinned and built a new foundation while supporting the existing structure, keeping it light because it wasn’t designed to have loads of modern insulation and modern glass.
There are layers there: a concrete plinth and the new insertion, which is all the studios, with the historic sitting on top. It’s a process of exploration and that can be really fun!
What recurring motifs mark out an Ackroyd Lowrie project?
We’re a bit against dogmatic approaches, and we look to find meaning in each building and project we do.
We spend a lot of time trying to develop the concept by understanding the site, the client, and the setting in the city and then trying to make something unique to that.
The history of our environmental design is strong: the natural light, ventilation, timber and natural materials. Fundamentally, it’s about the environment and the city.
How do you prioritise environmental concerns in your work?
We want to think about robustness and resilience. If you get the building right, and build it with ventilation and in a way that can be adapted, it becomes a structure with a much longer life.
The most negative environmental impact of all is when buildings are knocked down rather than being repurposed and reused.
As we enter 2020, what aspects of architecture frustrate you the most and how do you manage them?
The system is broken in some ways: it’s expensive, it’s slow, it’s stressful. Only 3% of architects go back and look at their buildings in any meaningful way. Prototyping, testing and learning as a cyclical thing is fundamental to what we’re about.
I’m trying to build that process and the industry isn’t very good at it.
The idea is to share the learnings we get but most architects and clients don’t want them published. If you admit the mistakes in what’s seen as a brilliant building, people often dislike it because they want to be the perfect client or the perfect architecture practice.
Only 3% of architects go back and look at their buildings in any meaningful way. Prototyping, testing and learning as a cyclical thing is fundamental to what we’re about.
What three things help you to grow and expand your practice?
The transition from a boutique practice of 10-15 people, like ours, is actually extremely difficult.
This year, we’ve invested in a mentorship programme with Step Up, who come in and do 360s with directors and help build the team.
We offer practical and carpentry training to staff, and we’re building a tracker system that runs through and consolidates the technological side.
We’re building all those things so we’re able to transition that painful leap to a bigger practice with a good, solid basis and revenue per head. So there is a plan in place.
Where do you see architecture leading society in the next 10 years, or should society lead architects?
Architects have a responsibility: we talk about building more inspiring worlds in the practice – so how do you do that?
Ackroyd Lowrie is all about location and the people. We’re particularly interested in regeneration hot-spots, places of fast change. We listen to local authorities and politicians, and get out there and talk.
You listen and learn from past mistakes, use technology to create efficiencies and to make better things, in order to create places that are human and have a sense of meaning.
Isn’t that what we all want from our work, to have a deeper sense of meaning?