The spectacular rough luxe interior of Martello Hall. 40 RECLAIM APRIL 2017
East Side Story CREATIVE SALVAGE, STRIPPING BACK AND SHUNNING WASTE ARE THE KEYS TO GREAT DESIGN FOR ARCHITECT TRIO RED DEER WORDS EMMA HOWARTH I t s important to really listen to a building and think about its narrative, says Lionel Real de Azúa, one third of architect trio Red Deer. If you look at the existing fabric of a space, it acts as a guide for what the design direction might be. His friends and practice partners, Ciarán O Brien and Lucas Che Tizard, are quick to agree, looking down on a swathe of history-packed Shoreditch/City streets from the library windows of the Soho Works co-working space they use in east London s iconic Tea Building. This city is a big collage of histories and stories that have been there before, adds Ciarán. And those stories make an easy starting point. It s more difficult when we are presented with a space that s more of an empty shell, of course, but then, the stories are just elsewhere. They come from the client or from an invented narrative. For us, it always helps to come up with a story. www.reclaimmagazine.uk 41
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Smokestak is one of our favourite examples of how coming up with an intersting narrative for a space follows through into great design. Working together as Red Deer, the trio have made a name for themselves creating cool but inviting hospitality spaces for clients including Gail s Bakery, No197 Chiswick Fire Station, Hackney s Martello Hall and Perilla in Newington Green, as well as residential work for private clients. There s a running theme as they talk through their past projects a hidden double height ceiling here, a lucky strike original terrazzo floor there and it seems there s nothing Red Deer likes more than stripping a building back to its bones with their fingers firmly crossed for architectural gold. And even if they don t hit the jackpot, or the space they re working with veers more towards that empty shell, they make sure they find the magic elsewhere. z Smokestak is one of our favourite examples of how coming up with an interesting narrative for a space follows through into great design, says Ciarán. We invented a story that there was an old garage there on Sclater Street and that when the new buildings went up the owner refused to move so they just built up around him. So instead of a concrete shell, it became the place where this garage guy kept his cars, with a hidden bar downstairs. Once we had that, it was no longer about what shall we put on this wall to make it look nice? It was what did the garage guy have on this wall? The end (this page and opposite) The dark and moody Smokestak on Sclater Street, London. The trio imagined that the building was once a garage and the owner refused to move. The design is based around his fictional taste and personality. www.reclaimmagazine.uk 43
The salvage and reclamation is mostly an extension of what we were doing as students, jumping in bins to find materials for models. (this page and opposite) No197 Chiswick Fire Station on Chiswick High Road is clean and contemporary whilst staying true to the history of the building. result is an atmospheric triumph, with dramatic dark walls and chunky utilitarian workbenches crafted from salvaged elm. Leather details were added by a local leatherworker and a reclaimed workshop table was modified with additional pieces and adjustments. We re very much trying to move away from this idea of just specifying things, whether old or new, says Lucas. By finding an old antique piece and adding to it, adding new twists, we can create something unique. z All three are vocal about their preference for the inherent quality of historical pieces. It s hard to find things nowadays that are really built to last, says Lucas. Lionel nods in agreement: Aged or reclaimed materials have so much more character so we naturally gravitate towards them. One look at Martello Hall s cast iron balustrade bar; use of reclaimed materials in the furniture at Chiswick Fire Station, or that stunning terrazzo floor at Perilla, and it s easy to see why. The team s driving force remains an aesthetic one but they re conscious that their preferences are also ecologically sound. I wouldn t say we re coming at it from an ideological stance. But waste is ungrateful, so why do it? says Lionel. Also aged or reclaimed materials have so much more character so it feels natural that we would gravitate to those materials in the first place. I d say we strive for authenticity 44 RECLAIM APRIL 2017
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Aged or reclaimed materials have so much more character so we naturally gravitate towards them. 46 RECLAIM APRIL 2017
(this page and opposite) Perilla on Newington Green mixes wood, brick and concrete for a contemporary twist on classic style and shapes. www.reclaimmagazine.uk 47
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We never wanted to be a stereotypical company. Everyone told us to just take our time. But we just wanted to do it. and character and as it happens that is also responsible. Most of the people we collaborate with are within half an hour s drive of here, Ciarán continues. We want to use local craftsmen so that s our starting point, and that means we have a lower carbon footprint. The salvage, the reclamation, it s mostly just an extension of what we were doing when we were students jumping in bins to find materials for models. z The fact that despite their success they re still happiest rummaging around salvage yards and hunting down local sign writers and metal forgers is symbolic of the way this trio works best collaboratively, often remotely (they travel a lot) and free from the trappings of more traditional architecture practices. We never wanted to be a stereotypical company, says Lucas, we had accountants telling us we needed six months of accounts before we could set up and everyone told us to take our time. But we just wanted to do it. And that s exactly what they did. Their first project together was a plan hatched over spaghetti (before they d even officially formed the company) to take an installation to Nevada s Burning Man. The result, a grant- and -crowd-funded, lit-up acrylic pyramid, shipped out to the desert in crates to make a splash on the festival with its kaleidoscopic light beams. We wanted to fund our own first big project and do something that Martello Hall on Mare Street is one of Red Deer s most recent projects, with raw ceilings, weathered wood and exposed plaster, harking back to the building s 19th century roots. www.reclaimmagazine.uk 49
Red Deer s Tips for Achieving a Rough-Luxe Look at Home l Disconnect. Step away from Pinterest, turn off your phone and get lost a little. Listening and watching the world around us is often the deepest source of inspiration. Head out to a salvage yard or a vintage market and start rummaging. We wanted to fund our first big project, to do something that wasn t really architecture and wasn t in London. We wanted to start with a bang. l Strip things back. When you start building, make sure your builders are briefed to alert you to any interesting finds. If pulling up the carpets reveals an amazing tiled floor, you don t want it ending up in a skip. l Replace fixtures tentatively. It can be tempting when a house has been stripped of original features to try to put them all back in. Be tentative because that too is now part of the building s history. It may be an opportunity to do something new. l Go straight to the makers. Don t research sellers, research the people who make great things around you. If you have mood-boarded a table, go and speak to a local carpenter. The tactility and provenance of what you produce will have so much more meaning. Again it s about not getting sucked in to the virtual world. l Make it yours. Don t think of the space as a theme but as something that s truly reminiscent of who you are and the way you want to use it. JESSICA YURASEK wasn t really architecture and wasn t in London. We wanted to start with a bang, says Lionel. Their approach might seem unconventional to some but it works, enabling the team to travel, take on passion projects and collaborate with both other practices and specialist makers. They teamed up with Box 9 Design for their work on Smokestak and Chiswick Fire Station and have worked with tile specialist Bert & May to create a range of kitchens in natural materials. They choose to operate from a shared workspace in order to expose themselves to outside influences as much as possible and seek inspiration from old movies, art, vintage markets and trips to far-flung destinations. We don t want to work like consultants, says Ciarán, we don t want to be sat in a box being introspective, either. To produce our best work, we need to absorb the world around us. See reddeer.co.uk for more information The grant and crowd-funded installation that the trio took to Nevada s Burning Man. 50 RECLAIM APRIL 2017