Page 4 - AIT0622_Heatherwick

M r Hübner, Heatherwick Studio carries out local and international projects
with a team consisting of 200 “problem solvers” as it is written on the com-
pany homepage. Which problems – or tasks – have you been and are you still aut-
horized to assist in solving?
Fortunately, the portfolio on which I have been authorized to contribute to during the
four years I have been working here is highly diversified. It ranges from the Airo electric
car all the way to one of the worldwide largest airport terminals, Changi Airport in Sin-
gapore, or to diverse urban-development planning. What all these projects have in
common is the approach we use for them. In the beginning, design does not play an
important part in this. What is more decisive is to precisely analyse the context, parti-
cularly as regards the human-social component. In the process, one nearly always en-
counters problems. What, for me, makes working at Heatherwick Studio so exciting is
thinking about how our project is able to solve some of these problems and how it
might contribute to improving the quality of the location not only for the immediate
users but also for the overall social fabric. In that respect, the term “problem” does not
necessarily have a negative connotation but it is rather the attempt of raising the stan-
dard regarding our projects higher than the construction task actually requires. In the
case of the car, this meant not only being satisfied with the fact that the car is driven
by an electric motor and is practically emission-free but to also consider how it could
improve the air in its surroundings. Our approach to solving this was a Hepa filter RYTHMIC
which filters and cleans the air while the car is on the road. In addition, as a response
to the increasing shortage of urban space, we tried not to see the car merely as a
means of transport but as a space one likes to use even when the car is not moving.

r Which are the challenges associated with the enormous range of projects?
First of all, this is very exciting and demanding since one is forced to switch between
highly different scales and degrees of detail. I believe that it helps if one never loses
sight of the human scale. Independent of the size of a project, we therefore try to al-
ways take on the perspective of the user. What is of decisive significance in this are
details on a small scale and human interactions with the built environment. Thus,
for instance, the design of elevator buttons plays an important role since they are
able to give the place an additional level of identity and communicate love of detail.
This was the case for the London Coal Drops Yard project, the conversion of an old
industrial loading station into a high-end retail area. No matter at all whether it is a
car design or a major urban-development project: In the end, both are intended to
be “places” where people feel good.

r So how is the office at Heatherwick Studio structured?
As a matter of principle, we differentiate between a “domain” and a “design” sector.
In the “domain” sector is everything which is not directly connected with designing,
for instance finances, staff, building administration and so on. In the “design” sector,
of course, the projects are designed with at the head in each case a project leader, then
a project manager and a technical manager. Depending on the size of the projects, up
to 30 designers and architects work on the elaboration of the initial design. The pro-
jects are supervised by one of the partners of the studio as well as by Thomas Heat-
herwick himself who is involved in every single project. There are furthermore project-
supporting departments such as landscape planning, BIM building information model-
ling and – very important – the model-making workshop, all with their specific em-
ployees. The hierarchy in the office is very flat, each employee, from the trainee to the
partner, is encouraged to actively participate in the design process and to at any time
contribute ideas or constructive criticism. In the meanwhile, every Friday evening we
have a studio meeting where everyone gets together and presents the progress of their
projects. This has been important before corona and during has the pandemic – via
zoom – all the more become an essential component of the studio culture. In this way, Foto : Stéphane rambaud Foto : Stéphane rambaud
it is possible to keep the overview of the activities of the office. To be able to better su-
pervise construction projects in foreign countries, in most cases we have project archi-
tects on site even though the majority of the employees are working in London. The
studio is furthermore very internationally staffed. This assists in better understanding
foreign countries and cultures. Thomas makes the fundamental decisions as to the de-
sign, presents the important milestones of the projects and maintains close contact
with decision makers. As the founder and name giver, he is also the face of Heather-
wick Studio. What I admire especially is that, despite his success, he is still a very mo-
dest person and treats all the people in his surroundings with equal respect.