![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FLondon-Wall-Place-weathered-steel-walkway-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=230&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=7802bdb1f3b80ae7b697adf288833527 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FLondon-Wall-Place-weathered-steel-walkway-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=460&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=a19c07ad98c532cb8e3cd19c3b8752e4 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FLondon-Wall-Place-weathered-steel-walkway-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=842&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=74e3dd4f1b568cc9b530dac10c0e4f4a 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FLondon-Wall-Place-weathered-steel-walkway-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1122&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=cf1252162b5a7098ee7b9c9fa2567780 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FLondon-Wall-Place-weathered-steel-walkway-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1535&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=d461fd51796cf9ea0c7c3b8e09d63755 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FLondon-Wall-Place-weathered-steel-walkway-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1754&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=a9fccb4a4202df7bf4fe0d5c82980f3c 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FLondon-Wall-Place-weathered-steel-walkway-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2105&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=8ae15d683c4dabe131fed11e38eb2791 1920w)
This kind of innovation requires resilience to rejection – behind every resolved Make design are dozens, if not hundreds, of options that didn’t make the cut. This applies to every concept, every layout and every detail. And that’s just the initial design stage.
Working with contractors and specialist fabricators at the pre-contract stage, we then test materials and check that precise geometries, interfaces, fixings and finishes will deliver the performance and appearance demanded.
We don’t stop there. As every delivered design is a prototype, we seek to analyse flaws, learn from mistakes, and, where possible, use our findings to influence the wider design, construction and development industries, including local authority planning policies.
This year the Mayor of London announced that he would be seeking to enshrine in all borough planning policy a requirement to achieve a minimum ‘Urban Green Factor’ (UGF). Working with the City of London, we analysed two of our completed projects, and wrote code for a programme to identify the worst and best outcome scenarios when applying the UGF to a generic development plot. The exercise led us to conclude that the assessment criteria needs weighting in favour of publicly accessible areas to prevent urban greening from becoming solely the territory of private individuals and organisations. The process is ongoing.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FUrban-Green-Factor_London-Wall-Place_Make-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=140&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=7303c875ddc3af5dc6916438a100f023 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FUrban-Green-Factor_London-Wall-Place_Make-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=bf4eb2aa7a56c9edaf19db756e0f3dec 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FUrban-Green-Factor_London-Wall-Place_Make-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=512&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=cbbb7f2c09240781d32a971cd9745f5e 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FUrban-Green-Factor_London-Wall-Place_Make-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=683&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=723dfecf36353f28904d814b98a47634 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FUrban-Green-Factor_London-Wall-Place_Make-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=933&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=6dcce6ef974b7f332effd0f2930bc171 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FUrban-Green-Factor_London-Wall-Place_Make-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1066&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=7242ef3b85028508a1f9a3fc9be237bf 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FUrban-Green-Factor_London-Wall-Place_Make-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=1736a2b82c64457dcc9e0251daf41dee 1920w)
This continued questioning of established methods, models and policy underpins all our work, and often leads to pioneering solutions to aid our clients’ goals. For instance, we recently designed a street of custom-build houses in East London. Uniquely, each house is structurally detached and consists of a simple structural and service infrastructure that enables the end user to configure their home in a number of permutations – and continue to do so over the life of the building, to suit changing lifestyles without impacting on neighbours. This includes the external expression of the building. To achieve this, we had to develop a design code that was sufficiently detailed to obtain full planning consent but loose enough to allow for customisation.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FCustom-House-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=118&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=34e91f3f8b7064946def1668983f4848 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FCustom-House-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=236&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=e8a408147e7b73f61c64b1d9bae99804 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FCustom-House-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=432&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=47141d6be320e8e778d38d6d52b765a5 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FCustom-House-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=576&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=811f876df824a28272c53d5776709961 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FCustom-House-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=788&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=590b8df5cb090604b7ce1eced9fef9dc 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FCustom-House-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=900&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=bf8b1f818d3c21f2096f32cde0c52e53 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F04%2FCustom-House-Make.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1080&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=d3bb60a692b9164c11de44e409a717bd 1920w)
Once consented, the project progressed to the marketing stage. As the model of housing was unusual, we offered to help the client reach their target audience. They took us literally. So on a crisp March weekend at the Royal Docks, we pitched the product to crowded rooms of eager purchasers and assisted custom-build mortgage advisors. Happily, terms for the sale of all nine homes were agreed over the course of two days.
Simply put, we do whatever it takes to deliver the best, whether that means taking on the role of designer, cleaner, painter, political analyst, gardener or – dare I say it – even estate agent.
Article extracted from Make Annual 14.