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Some of the best design lessons don’t come from a client brief.

They come from watching someone design for the person they love most.

Here are a few thoughts on design, intimacy and empathy.

Photographic credits throughout : Jim Stephenson

I’ve always had a soft spot for the monumental stone sculptures of Peter Randall-Page – not only because they are stunning, but because, like Page, my own dad was a sculptor, leaving the RCA in the late 60’s and serving as an assistant to Sir Anthony Caro.

Our house was always full of ‘bits of work’ that my Dad was always ‘coming back to’. So I was immediately blown away by the beauty of the simplicity of Randall’s amazing Devon studio created by his own son, the architect Thomas Randall-Page.

Having your father as a client: the ultimate honour or curse?

TRP’s intimate relationship with his father has led to the creation of a genuinely meaningful solution – a solution that’s both reverential and appropriate.

This level of intimacy is a luxury that’s rarely part of the commercial design process but it does highlight how much easier design life is with a close and respectful relationship between designer and end user.

At 71, there’s no denying the sculptor is getting on in years – even if his sculptures show no sign of slowing down. The ArtBarn matches the scale of the work: a monumental converted agricultural building in a quiet Devon valley. For all its size, the space is made wonderfully accessible through a series of simple design interventions – striking in their simplicity and beauty, yet deeply sympathetic to the user.

The cow shed is easily converted into a light-bathed studio through lightweight shutters revealing floor-to-eaves windows. A colossal concealed folding panel converts into a first floor balcony –  controlled not by hydraulics but through a simple counter weighted mechanism, operable with a single hand and a gentle push from a 71 year old dad. Independence, light and elegance in one simple gesture.

Polished concrete – perfect for effortless sweeping – transforms a working studio into a serene gallery space with a few deft brush strokes. The cavernous space is punctuated with a cosy snug: Randall’s beloved local granite mix, cast with the precision of concrete, and a beautifully austere wood burner combine to create a space made for relaxation, concentration and creation. 

It’s an acknowledgment that just because the work is minimal, monumental and – at times – austere, its 71-year-old, prolific creator still needs warmth – the ability to change up the scale and step away from the work now and again.

Sat above the ‘pit’ is a floating, cork-clad cube that houses the sculptor’s work room. Rich, raw timber blends with galvanised beams and fixtures, all cloaked in dark cork. Industrial chic, soundproofed, cosy and enveloping. The materials, volumes and details each perfectly suit the client, their work and the way they work.

It’s not rocket science: truly taking the time to understand intimately the context of use, and the end user, does inevitably lead to more sensitive and appropriate, personal solutions. Design must enable, embrace and empower people on every level – whether it’s written in the brief or not. 

Materials add beauty and richness to the story, and very often become the story themselves. They are not purely decorative, or a byproduct of the production – they tell your story, speaking to people long before you do!

So whilst designing for a loved one might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, make sure every project feels like it is.

Photography

+ With thanks to Jim Stephenson

Architecture

+ Thomas Randall-Page