Expert Series: What Makes a Great Renovation? Andrew Mulroy, Mulroy Architects

One of the questions I'm asked most often is: do I need an architect and an interior designer, or just one or the other?

The honest answer is that it depends on the project. But what I've seen, again and again, is that the renovations that turn out best are the ones where the whole team is in the room from the beginning. Where the architect, the designer, and the client are all pulling in the same direction before a single wall comes down.

Andrew Mulroy is the founder of Mulroy Architects, a North London practice whose residential work I've admired for a long time. We've worked on projects together, and his approach to the brief — the way he listens before he designs — is exactly what I mean when I talk about a project team that genuinely works.

I asked him six questions about what good architectural practice actually looks like. Here are his thoughts.

On the first conversation — and reading a building

When a new client comes to you at the very start of a project, what are you really trying to understand — and how does that inform the way you approach a space?

"Clients always come to us with the statement: 'we need an extension.' What they actually need is a building that will fit and flow around their future life. They have identified that their current building doesn't fit — whether it's a home school or office — but often cannot describe what doesn't work for them.

Our first task as architects is to help them retrace their thought processes to the point where they decided things are not working. We then help them scenario plan what their future life may look like — in terms of social events, family size, business goals. This iterative process will define a clear brief with measurable benefits, which we use as the benchmark throughout the project.

Social sustainability is at the heart of Mulroy's work. Anyone can create cool things for buildings. But it takes a particular focus to help people envisage their future life and fit an architecture that will achieve it."

On building a shared vision

When a client arrives with a strong idea of what they want, how do you work with them to develop that into something the space can actually support?

"On the surface this sounds like the recipe for a difficult relationship — but in truth it has great benefits. With this type of client you always start with 'why?' and help them articulate their thoughts and preconceptions. And we keep asking 'why' until we have all reached the root symptoms of the project.

Once we have alignment on the 'why', the relationship becomes really exciting. It feels like young children inventing a game in the playground — 'that's so cool, and we could add this to make it even better.' Everyone becomes braver in the decision making as there are open communications and trust about the design, budget, and timescale implications."

On what clients need to have thought through

What does a client genuinely need to have worked out before they meet you — and what tends to be missing?

"Every client needs to answer three simple questions. Nothing can happen until we understand this.

• Why are you wanting to do the project?

• What will be improved if you develop it?

• What are the implications if you do nothing?"

On what makes a project feel truly right

What's the difference between a project that ends up feeling genuinely right for the people living in it, versus one that just looks good on paper?

"It's a project that fits and flows around their future life. Architects can predict how successful this will be at the design stage — but it is wonderful when you listen to a client explaining how the building fits and flows around their life once it's completed."

On what every client should know before they begin

What's the one thing you wish every client understood before a renovation starts?

"That their architect has a wealth of experience and wants to give this to them to make their life better. When a client comes with a preconceived idea, they are denying themselves the true benefits that architects and designers can offer — what's tried and tested, best value, new trends that haven't swamped Instagram, or ideas that are truly tailored to them.

Using an architect or designer is like commissioning a bespoke suit or dress. It would be a waste to then ask your tailor to copy a garment that can be obtained from a high-street chain."

On the architect and interior designer relationship

At what point in a project does collaboration with an interior designer add the most value — and what does that relationship look like when it works well?

"You need to consider the spatial and structural architect, interior design, and landscape design together at concept design stage — RIBA Stage 2. The architect is the lead designer who creates the spatial strategy so that the building fits and flows both internally and externally. Where an interior and landscape designer are also involved, the team will work together so that a cohesive look and feel for every aspect of the project is created."

Thank you to Andrew Mulroy  for taking the time and for a conversation that reflects exactly why early collaboration makes such a difference.

If you're planning a renovation and wondering how to build the right team around it, the Renovation Clarity Session is a good place to start. We can work out what you need, in what order, and who should be in the room.