{"id":736927,"date":"2024-04-09T09:44:59","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T08:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=736927"},"modified":"2024-04-09T09:44:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T08:44:59","slug":"new-practice-studiofolk-teaming-up-helps-beat-the-lack-of-experience-catch-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/new-practice-studiofolk-teaming-up-helps-beat-the-lack-of-experience-catch-22","title":{"rendered":"New practice StudioFolk: \u2018Teaming up helps beat the lack-of-experience catch-22\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Practice name<\/strong>\u00a0StudioFolk Architects
\nBased<\/strong>\u00a0Bermondsey, London
\nFounded<\/strong> October 2023
\nMain people<\/strong>\u00a0Edward Powe, founding director<\/p>\n

Where have you come from?
\n<\/strong>After graduating from the Royal College of Art (RCA), I was an associate at the AJ 40 under 40 practice DK-CM<\/a> in east London, working on a range of high-level strategic and built conservation work, predominantly in the public sector.<\/p>\n

It was during my time at the RCA and DK-CM that I discovered the value of research, multidisciplinary collaboration and craft in the design process. I wanted to encapsulate these values in the running of a practice and they are now enshrined in the way StudioFolk works.<\/p>\n

What work do you have and what kind of projects are you looking for?
\n<\/strong>We are only a few months old, but we\u2019ve been surprised to have such a mixed bag of work. Our first projects were all residential extensions and retrofits in London and Kent, most of which were listed and played into our strengths at delivering conservation work.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also working on a new self-build home in Devon, directly adjacent to a scheduled ancient monument and site of special scientific interest (SSSI), which has been a fun challenge. In particular, we\u2019ve enjoyed finding creative solutions to deliver sustainable substructure and surface water drainage designs in an archaeologically sensitive context.<\/p>\n

More recently, we\u2019re excited to have begun work with third-sector organisations on larger projects. Notably, we\u2019re currently working with Headstone Manor<\/a> in Harrow to deliver important repair and conservation works to three of their significant historic buildings. We\u2019ve also recently begun working with the Kent Wildlife Trust<\/a> on some strategic work to improve their existing visitor centres and deliver feasibility studies for new facilities.<\/p>\n

What are your ambitions?
\n<\/strong>Our aim is to develop a more collaborative way of designing and building. Our current projects have proved to us that no matter how small a project is, there is always space for collaboration and the end result is far richer for it.<\/p>\n

We’ll often bring custom materials, and sometimes craftworkers themselves, to our design development meetings with our clients. They are far better placed to demonstrate the value of their work than we ever will be, and it helps to debunk some of the myths about \u2018bespoke\u2019 design being more expensive.<\/p>\n

An example of this is a recently approved scheme in east London: a 9m\u00b2 extension and internal retrofit of a historic Grade II-listed terrace. We worked in collaboration with designer and ceramicist Charlotte Moore. We also drew on the expertise of a talented local stone sculptor, Edgar Ward, to help source stone and develop carved lintels for each opening that add a new layer of character to the fabric of the building.<\/p>\n

Through our RCA and industry connections, we already have a wide network of talented designers, makers and craft professionals that we know and work with frequently, but our hope is to build this network further so we can draw on a range of expertise for each of our projects.<\/p>\n

By partnering with more established practices on larger projects, we hope to inject a diversity of design and craft skillsets into a project team by removing the complexity that comes with achieving this at scale.<\/p>\n

What are the biggest challenges facing yourself as a start-up and the profession generally?
\n<\/strong>As the practice is young, our biggest challenge has been the catch-22 of demonstrating an ability to deliver projects without having an established portfolio of completed projects. It can take years from project inception until you are able to show photographs of a finished building. We\u2019ve been fortunate to have clients who\u2019ve put their trust in us, and we\u2019re very grateful to them for that.<\/p>\n

Our collaborative approach has evolved directly out of this challenge. For example, by partnering with established practices we\u2019ve developed a split approach to delivering RIBA stages on some of our projects, where one practice undertakes early stages, and the other the later stages. This approach is not suitable for all projects, of course, and we\u2019ve found that it relies heavily on trust and openness between the two practices.<\/p>\n

However, our clients have responded really well as they get double the value in terms of expertise, at no additional cost, and the practices focus on the stages where they can add the most value.<\/p>\n

Which scheme, completed in the past five years, has inspired you most?
\n<\/strong>We really admire projects like Wraxhall Yard by Clementine Blakemore that deliver sensitive, unpretentious improvements to existing buildings \u2013 the sort of projects that look as if they\u2019ve always been there and are likely to be there for a long time to come.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Wraxall Yard, Dorchester, Dorset, by Clementine Blakemore Architects<\/p>\n\t

Source:Lorenzo Zandri<\/p><\/div>\n

But we have a soft spot for the Arts and Crafts movement, so if we had to choose one it would probably be the Red House by David Kohn. We\u2019re drawn to the challenge of translating the ethos and values of a historic architectural period to modern construction methods and ways of living, particularly in creative and playful ways, and we think this is a really good example of that.<\/p>\n

Are you using any new design techniques, such as AI?
\n<\/strong>We use Adobe\u2019s AI tools for minor edits to some of our imagery, but the main benefit of AI to us has been in our project admin. We love a spreadsheet, and our rule is if we have to do any repetitive admin task more than five times we try to find a way to remove it from our lives using tools like Zapier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We are building a knowledge bank to streamline our processes<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s a lot of project admin in the design process, and by collecting and organising as much data as possible for each project we do, we are building a knowledge bank that can be used to streamline our processes. AI is therefore already helping to free up time for the tasks that create real value for our clients, and is allowing us to develop closer working relationships with them and the wider design team.<\/p>\n

\"\"

StudioFolk’s approved plans to extend and refurbish a listed townhouse in Mile End, London. The scheme will add a small sculpted stone extension. The project was drawn up with designer Charlotte Moore<\/p>\n\t

<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n

How are you marketing yourselves?
\n<\/strong>We do the usual Instagram, LinkedIn and website marketing, but the best marketing by far has been a cup of coffee in a caf\u00e9 with potential clients and collaborators, closely followed by the cold email \u2013 we\u2019re big advocates of a cold email.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re big advocates of a cold email<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We\u2019ve also been really taken aback by how generous people have been with their time when asked for advice, which has led to some mentorship and peer support from other small-medium sized practices that we appreciate enormously.<\/p>\n

We feel most comfortable working as part of a team and are constantly looking for new people and practices to collaborate with \u2013 and we\u2019re always happy to receive a cold email too.<\/p>\n

Contact details<\/strong><\/p>\n

Website<\/strong>\u00a0www.studiofolkarchitects.com
\nEmail<\/strong>\u00a0hello@studiofolkarchitects.com
\nInstagram<\/strong>\u00a0@studiofolkarchitects
\nLinkedIn<\/strong>\u00a0StudioFolk Architects<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Practice name\u00a0StudioFolk Architects Based\u00a0Bermondsey, London Founded October 2023 Main people\u00a0Edward Powe, founding director Where have you come from? After graduating from the Royal College of Art (RCA), I was an associate at the AJ 40 under 40 practice DK-CM in east London, working on a range of high-level strategic and built conservation work, predominantly in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":915,"featured_media":737005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew practice StudioFolk: \u2018Teaming up helps beat the lack-of-experience catch-22\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The latest in a series of profiles of architects who have recently decided to go it alone features Bermondsey-based StudioFolk Architects\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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