We asked Russell Taylor 5 questions, here are his answers:
- Tell me about yourself and your business.
We are architects who design in the Georgian and traditional style – we call it “design in the Classical tradition”.
Surveys consistently show that Georgian is the public’s favourite style of architecture, admired for its sense of order, its balance, elegance and beauty; qualities people wish to have in their own homes. We give them that. We know how to design in the Georgian and traditional styles. And, just as important, we know the builders and crafts people who can do it.
- What makes you unique and what are you known for?
The intricacies and techniques of Georgian and traditional design are unknown to most architects (in fact it is not taught in schools of architecture) it is specialist knowledge.
We have an award-winning record of applying the principles of Classical design to new buildings and refurbishments. We have many satisfied clients and most of our business comes from word of mouth recommendation.
- Tell me how you got started in your profession?
An easy question. As a child I loved old buildings and asked myself the question, “why are most old buildings interesting and attractive whereas most modern ones are boring, aggressively assertive, or just plain ugly?” I resolved not to copy the past but rather to be inspired by it and to try to match the best qualities of historic architecture.
- Why do you love what you do?
It really is the best job in the World. We meet wonderful people, not just clients but also builders, crafts people and another specialist. We travel to beautiful and fascinating places. And then we design and produce buildings and interiors in the style we love.
- What are some of your favourite spaces to work on?
We very much enjoy designing buildings that could be mistaken for Georgian or traditional, houses that have a similar elegance, a sense of proportion, carefully detailed, and well crafted.
The same enjoyment is gained from working on an existing building that has suffered inappropriate alterations, we love putting back to style. Usually this requires some detective work to discover what it was supposed to look like – an enjoyment in itself.