The panelists Roger Zogolovitch, Meredith Bowles, Amandine Kastler and Jack Self talked about introducing the concept of entrepreneurship as a way of operating architectural practice even while studying.

Jack Self had to work different jobs to put himself through school and found the idea of working in offices for other people rather unappealing, which is what prompted him to take a less conventional route.

Roger Zogolovitch noted that the imbalance between the number of students who become “master builders” and those left to pursue smaller projects and forge their careers on their own. He also stressed the ability to recognize opportunity as a unique skill of an architect, exemplified by his own work as an architect and property developer with a keen eye for “soft sites”.

Talking about opportunities, the panelists agreed on the importance of recognizing and seizing the right opportunities, not relying on lucky breaks. This feeds into the idea of designing your architectural practice as you would a building.

Members of the audience posed provocative questions asking about ways architects can gain more control over projects and stay relevant. Meredith Bowles noticed that the limitation of the role of architects is real- architects need to take change and not be in the service industry-accept changes taking place all around and bring those changes into the profession.

Another interesting question pertained to the lack of published work that covers architects’ careers and the idea of looking at architectural practice from a production standpoint. One member of the audience noted that architects are failing to take responsibility for the building process, participate in every aspect of the project, from graphic design to tenancy leasing strategies, not just sitting in the office designing. This readiness to take risks and be active participants is what separates great practices, regardless of firm size.

Roger Zogolovitch agreed that there is arrogance among architects due to which they don’t engage with the business and production aspects of the industry. Instead, most architects focus only on design and ultimately lose control over projects. This is why Meredith Bowles moved to executive role and worked on the business side to get to build the types of projects he and his partners wanted to do.

A portion of the talk was dedicated to the idea of marketing and self-promotion. Jack Self mentioned Mies Van der Rohe and Le Corbusier as the best examples of architects who understood the power and importance of media and publishing. Both have also reinvented themselves and assumed different names early in their careers.

Here is a link to the video

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Roger Zogolovitch, Founder of Solidspace, is a practicing architect and independent developer with 40 years of experience in the field that he told us about in a recent interview. He has built an impressive portfolio of urban housing projects on gap sites in London – such as the Zog House, but also more experimental architectural design projects.

The Houseboat, an award-winning single house with a more organic form than other Solidspace rectilinear projects, is one of them. It is not a gap site project, but located on a beautiful site overlooking Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. It was designed in collaboration with Meredith Bowles of Mole Architects and the project was managed by Rebecca Granger Architects.

The house has been conceived as two upturned hulls propping themselves together facing the sea, and has been built with an in-situ concrete base and a Douglas Fir timber frame constructed shell. The plan is butterfly in shape. The building emerges with floor plates fanning out from this concrete structure. Accommodation is split between the two wings connected with steps and landings bridging the voids.

The arrangement of the split-level is designed using the Solidspace DNA which works on half levels and leads the eye from a first to second space and finally a third. The lower ground level accommodates the sleeping quarters which are acoustically separated from the rest of the open plan volume.

The upper ground floor provides a kitchen and dining room with terrace overlooking the sea, rising a few steps to the sitting room and concluding the eyrie at the top level.

The Eat/Live/Work sectional arrangement is maintained making a single volume under the protection of the upturned hulls, giving spatial clarity to form and the experience.

The Houseboat is the winner of a South West RIBA Award 2017 and has been shortlisted for World Architecture Festival Awards 2017 House/Future category.

As most of the houses build for Solidspace, this house was promoted and sold by Inhabit Homes, the company founded by Roger’s son Gus Zogolovitch that evolved from Solidspace.

photos: Rory Gardiner

Location:

Poole, Dorset, UK

Project Data:

• Architect: Meredith Bowles of Mole Architects
• Developer: Solidspace
• Planning/Construction:  – 2016
• Residential units: 1
• Storeys: 4
• Net saleable/rentable area: 255.5 sqm (2750 SF)

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