Practice2 July 20268 min read
What changed when we started developing our own buildings
Five years ago we bought our first site. Here is what it has taught us about the drawings we used to send out.
Tomas ReikePartner, development
There is a sentence every architect has heard: the numbers don't work. When we bought the grain quay, the numbers became our problem, and we learned quickly which of our habits cost money and which only looked as if they did.
Time is the expensive material
Nearly every saving we have found has come from taking time out rather than taking quality out. A simple, repeated structure is worth more than cheap cladding.
- Two column grids instead of five
- A single stair and core detail, used everywhere
- Decisions made in month three, not month thirty
We still design for other people. But every client now gets drawings made by people who have signed a loan.
