Lecture series: Sue Emms

Notes

(this lecture was actually given on 3rd March - just catching up with getting my written notes on to my blog!)

Sue Emms is Architect Director, BDP, Manchester

This was a hugely informative and well-constructed lecture giving real insight into Sue’s working life and the processes involved. It was accompanied by many examples of sketches, plans, models, toolkits, etc. 

Sue divided her lecture into five important themes summarised below with their key points noted. These are themes that Sue considers critical to good working practice and the success of creative projects. Whilst they were discussed in relation to architectural projects in particular, they are applicable to many other activities involving the creative process:

Collaboration

·         Try to work in one office so that all aspects of project work can be discussed - nothing is overlooked because all relevant parties are present and involved. 

·        Work in interdisciplinary teams: artists, architects, lighting designers, engineers… 

·         This means everyone is working live on one model.

·         Ensure that everyone is user-focused. 

Research

·         Keep on learning and never reinvent the wheel. 

·         Create lots of configurations for your project in order to test all scenarios.

People and places

·         Always challenge the brief – establish real requirements.

·         Ask “why?” – client may not have thought of other options.

Creative value

·         Embrace cost from day one so that an amazing design isn’t given a cheap implementation. 

·         Consider saving money by not spending ‘on the envelope’ but what is inside. Sue cited the example of St John Bosco school where the budget was incredibly tight so they decided to spend very little on the outside and everything went into making a fantastic internal design.

St John Bosco, Liverpool – thinking ‘inside the box’

New typologies

·         Don’t have any preconceived styles - develop new user-focussed designs. 

·         Develop a ‘toolbox’ for explaining your ideas. 

·         Print off CAD designs and draw over them with black felt tip pen!

·         Test out scenarios. 

·         Break work into stages and develop a plan of the journey: concept development, site analysis, brief analysis. (This is also really helpful if you are working to a commission as is usual in Sue's case because it helps to keep the client informed)

Thoughts...

The above summary only touches on a little of the content of Sue’s talk.  I was particularly impressed by the professional standard of Sue’s working practices and the high level of engagement with her clients.  Although she stressed the simplicity of her design and development techniques (cardboard models, ‘scruffy’ drawings with a thick black pen), it is clear that her approach is still highly organised.  Standardisation is key, collaboration is essential. 

In relation to my own project, I was very interested to hear discussions about the lighting of the buildings and how this was planned into the architectural designs. For example, classrooms are on the north side of the buildings with big windows so they get good sunlight and don't overheat but break-out areas are on the south giving sunny, warm play areas.

Another part of Sue's talk that struck me was when she described how she enjoys designing buildings that will fit in with constructivist learning methods. Active learning helps us retain knowledge and educational establishments that use this method of learning need to be designed to promote and facilitate this.

This resonates with my own philosophy in relation to my creative practice in that I want to work towards making art that will enhance the ambience of the site, promoting feelings of well-being and happiness in the viewer. Sue's talk gave me lots of food for thought in terms of how one should approach site research. I'm really pleased to have her lecture slides for reference!