Richard John Andrews, Owner and Director of Richard John Andrews Ltd, runs one of East London's most forward-thinking Architecture and Design Studios. A self-defined digital nomad, Richard has mastered technology in a way that allows him to work outside of his local borough.
He is therefore the perfect subject for the next in our series of interviews with ‘Innovators of Architecture’. Working on project leads in Haiti, Canada, the US and all over Europe, Richard proves that, with the right technology and mindset behind you, the next era of architecture is boundary-less.
Since launching in 2017, Richard’s practice has championed the development of emerging talent, freelance designers and different design creatives in order to fulfil larger project requirements. He tells us what it means to be a digital nomad and archi-preneur in a post-Covid19 world and Richard, you describe yourself as a digital nomad and archi-preneur. How did that start, and how has it influenced the way that you run your practice?
When I was starting out, I looked at how other studios were trying to describe what they do. I didn't seem to fit any of the often used, generic descriptions. Then one of my previous colleagues set up their own practice under the name of Red Deer. They started to look into the idea that there should be no limitations in terms of physical location on the projects that they chose to work on. A commission to construct a project in the Nevada desert at the Burning Man festival sparked a number of talks on what digital nomad-ism meant to them.
As I started out as a lone ranger I too could go and take on projects anywhere I wanted. I could offset the cost of that location, or the traveling cost, by my own passion for wanting to travel and wanting to get out and see a bit of the countryside.
If you aren't confined to your own local borough and you start looking at what is available elsewhere, you can broaden your architectural reach. This can be done through your own design language, or simply interacting with different clients and councils.
Is that, in essence, what you believe to be a digital nomad?
Architecture without the limitations of location is the way that I would describe digital nomad-ism. It has had a massive effect on our business model - we're currently talking to people in Haiti and Canada. We're also working on potential projects and collaborations with people in the US and other parts of Europe.
In terms of the financing side of things, it might not be feasible to package in six site visits, or three face to face meetings. However if you're willing to offset that cost with the experience of traveling and doing other things as part of your profession I believe that it’s worth it. I think digital nomad-ism is all about how you work - you are essentially a nomad in a way that moving around doesn't hinder your performance, or ability to create your best work.
In the current climate, clients are more willing to engage with designers that are further afield because there is a lot of emphasis on remote video communication. That ties in nicely to this idea of the archi-preneur and the digital nomad. You have to believe in the value in your services, regardless of location. If you can do that then your design work and relationships with clients are boundary-less!
You mentioned the rise in video communication due to this year’s lockdown. Are there any other tools and techniques that you use to positively impact efficiency?
On the communication side of things, we were already using video conferencing but are still testing out a lot of different systems. We're trying to put in place protocols that have been buried in my head for the last couple of years. Obviously Weaver saves us a lot of time especially assembling project teams of consultants and contractors.
In terms of design tools, we're always looking into new ways to engage our clients with virtual reality. We've been doing a lot of research on products like Oculus Rift and their competitors. We already create detailed digital models of our projects using MicroStation BAI, SketchUp and Rhino, but also we've started using Unreal Engine and software called Twin Motion. So we're going in towards the gaming style. The accuracy of the materials, lighting, textures that are built into those platforms don't require as much work as your traditional visualisation, or animation tools, such as your V-Rays.
I've grown up gaming, always have, probably always will in some capacity. I think having an understanding of realistic textures and lighting at a gaming level, and applying them in terms of visualisation or animation is just incredible.
We’re now looking at fine-tuning our 2D and 3D modelling programs so that we can connect them with something that gives us the ability to do virtual reality and walk-throughs with Oculus Rift, and even using augmented reality as well. From there, we come back to our technical design drawing packages, knowing that we've engaged the clients in that design process: the materials, the textures, the form, the context, the lighting.
When I ask a lot of architects if they are thinking about incorporating VR they respond saying, "the client doesn't want to pay for that". What would you say to that response?
Don't give them the chance to say that!
I think it all comes down to sales techniques and the way in which you sell your skills. I'm very headstrong and I think that my past experience at places like Foster and Partners, DOS Architects, and Michaelis Boyd Associates taught me that clients expect you to provide them with a service.
We understand that, but at the same time you don't have to do what they ask you to do. You have the ability to say, "we have a vision, we'll take onboard your brief and we'll design it, but the one thing we won't compromise on is the standard of work. If you don't want to see visualisations, augmented reality, virtual reality, and would prefer 2D CAD drawings that show a box on the back of your house then go somewhere else. We're not interested at all."
In my opinion, that’s a completely fair thing to say. We have confidence in our pricing, in our fees, but also the fact is that every project generates content for us, whether that's website based, social media posts or advertisements. It produces content that we're proud of, and that we would put up anywhere. The reason that I walk away when clients ask us to change our way of working is because it negatively impacts our business model. By just modelling in two dimensions we’re also unable to identify any issues which we may come across on site or during construction.
Sticking with our way of working outweighs the monetary incentive for engaging with clients that don’t share our opinion. We’ve been fortunate that we’ve been able to stick with those values quite strictly.
Which architect studios inspire you? Is there a particular studio that you appreciate and look up to?
One of the first places that I worked at was a company called DOS Architects. I only worked there for three months over a summer and at the time they were 3 or 4 people sharing a space with a visualisation company called Meshroom.
Their company setup really hammered home how inspiring working in architecture could be. Not working all the hours that God sends or submitting something to then have it thrown out the window. There was a feeling that everyone within that practice, and every piece of work that was contributed was appreciated. If there were times where you had to work very hard, and for long hours occasionally on deadlines, then it was always rewarded.
I think that company culture has always stuck with me, so I'd probably say that is one of the main practices that I've always looked up to. They get involved with small scale residential, but then all the way up to winning competitions for skyscrapers. That provides a really nice balance that allows for a lot of creativity and interest from anyone that you bring onboard in terms of your staff. Their company culture has stuck with me right from the day dot of my architectural profession.