Earlier today I was lucky enough to attend a private tour of Studio Heatherwick, organised in conjunction with the V&A’s exhibition of Heatherwick’s work.

I had an informative introduction to the studio’s practice and enjoyed a good old wander around. The most interesting part of the tour was the very large 3D work shop. I was very surprised to see the practice really encouraged a make and try design process and during the tour I noticed several of the designers heading into the workshop or busily creating elaborate models. There was an official 3D workshop manager (an obviously gifted model making genius) however the designers themselves freely used the workshop to create their own models and sketch models, often times creating and forming ideas straight from model building rather than sketching or general research. I also noted how important it was for the designers to have a strong grasp and passion for materials not only for use in model making but because the designers pioneered the use of new and previously unexploited materials.  The studio’s designers search out companies and suppliers who will experiment with materials, engineering principles and manufacturing ideas that the designers themselves have conceived, rather than limiting themselves to what is already on offer and easy to source.

During the morning studio tour we were hosted by two architects Jennifer Chen and Peter Ayres who both talked us through some of studio’s more famous projects including the metal chair made exclusively from one single extrusion process and the Spun Chair. Arguably the most interesting project was the Towers of Silence. The project involved creating an aviary for birds of prey to enclose a traditional burial arrangement for the Parsi (a religious group with a large number of believers based in Mumbai). The project is set in 57 acres of garden/forest in the city centre and not only does it serve to shield the site from nearby buildings but also houses the vultures (and some other smaller birds of prey) who will eat the flesh of the dead and give them the sky burial the religion requires.

The genius behind all these exciting projects, Thomas Heatherwick, retains the final word on all design work produced by the studio which employs over 80 staff members. Aside from all the exciting design projects and the studio’s home style kitchen – complete with oven – the most surprising part of the tour was the way design jobs were allocated. Designers were encouraged to branch out beyond their immediate specialism – product designers could work on structural projects and architects could work on designing a bag or furniture. Thomas Heatherwick himself is a designer with a 3D design degree and yet throughout his career he has been involved in several architectural projects.  Design clearly straddles multiple disciplines and once you have a good grasp of general design you can attempt to create anything with proper research and a good dose of experimentation.