We now approach interiors from the perspective of a sculptor. It’s a natural evolution, seeing every space as sculpture you can inhabit. There is poetry in carving, seeing materials doing unexpected things, experimenting with proportions, and observing the way connections and details intertwine in intuitive ways.
A dynamic staircase can punctuate the rhythm between an old building and a new addition. The sculpted form delineates the space and overlays history with a new expression of craft. The reinterpretation of traditional hand-moulded plaster ceilings creates a contemporary, textured surface that anchors a space. Carefully articulated blocks of marble and limestone can be cut into solid tables and vanities that highlight the exquisite beauty and energy of the natural material.
Perfecting the forms often requires experimentation and refinement on site. Explaining it from an artist’s perspective can be challenging – if the details don’t feel sculpted enough, we build models to demonstrate the scale and refine the form. Our influences include the sculptor Anthony Pryor, whose bold modernist steel works capture human presence and motion with remarkable clarity; American abstract expressionist David Smith, the first artist in the United States to create welded steel sculpture, pioneering the idea of ‘drawing in space’; and our great friend, Sandor Matos. Matos studied at the University of Fine Arts in Budapest, which was founded in the late 1800s, and his work draws on that pivotal moment in artistic experimentation.
We also look back to art and architectural history, particularly the avant-garde movement and the impact of the Industrial Revolution on design. The experimentation and freedom that came after World War II produced amazing artworks, furniture and lighting – the immediate past and the future were wrapped into one. Those designers really surprised themselves, and we are constantly trying to tap into that energy too.
Our curiosity is driven by the interplay of materials and space, how they can shift our emotion and how you can encourage them to do certain things. We have a sculpture in our home that was made by a friend, the ceramicist Graeme Wilkie. We love the way he has manipulated the clay’s surface. There’s an area in the glaze where it rolls and rolls, then falls still again. He’s really shaped the experience, and it is powerful.
Spending time in the workshop, making and exploring materials with our hands and bouncing ideas off others, has given us a great understanding of form. Sculpture has played a significant role in the way we approach our buildings, and it definitely sowed the seed of our obsession with form.