Richard Wood, managing director of Snøhetta Asia, leads the Norwegian architectural firm's operations in the region. With sustainability at its core, the global transdisciplinary practice has left its mark across the world and is the creative force behind Hong Kong's AIRSIDE mall.
Let’s start on a more personal note. Could you tell us about your journey to being an architect?
I guess as with most designers it started with an inquisitive nature about the world around us and I have always loved crafting objects. I originally aspired to be a landscape architect, but was persuaded to first study architecture. I never went on to the former, but I really enjoy the landscape, architecture, interior, design mix we have at Snøhetta – all under one roof.
Snøhetta is known for its sustainable approach. What does sustainability truly mean to you in an architectural sense?
We try to ingrain sustainability into all our processes; to say, we try to avoid it being something we just bolt on to any given project. We are talking a lot in the studio currently about regenerative design, how to go beyond being just being sustainable, to instead start to act to heal the world around us. In an architectural sense though we must find a balance.
We have the mandate to act on behalf of the public and create work which is “giving” for longer durations than perhaps are initially required. Especially today where there is a greater understanding on time frames and time cycles. This is helping the industry to become increasingly considerate. As you say it’s a global focus. The company began at a time when “sustainability” was just starting to be recognised as a global issue. In the same year the company was founded, Gro Brundtland, then Prime Minister of Norway, released the study “Our Common Future”, which highlighted the interconnectedness of these issues. I think the world is only now beginning to fully experience this interconnectedness. It’s clear that we need to be aligned to address the current challenges effectively, and in this, we have set up global task forces that meet regularly across all our studios to share strategies and tools.
Norwegian National Opera and Ballet
I personally love spending weekends at AIRSIDE. Although it’s distinct from the city centre, I’m drawn to its many gallery spaces. Was that intentional?
Lovely to hear. AIRSIDE is fundamentally about creating a heart for this newly developed area of Hong Kong. There are many devices used to try to ensure this, and to capture the imagination of those visiting the building. These start with the many facets in the overall mass which provide for entrances in all directions, creating a highly permeable building. Getting closer, you start to see that almost all entrances have a welcoming consistent character, whether for office or retail, this is “one place”. The galleries come out of the desire to present more intimate settings for the neighbourhood. The overall feeling of the retail is itself more relaxed in feeling, meandering around the central space and clad in a recycled material that both pays homage to Nan Fung’s heritage and provides for a friendlier acoustic environment.
I also love visiting at weekends though! It’s wonderful to see so many people ... and now dogs enjoying the space. Whilst we designed the landscape to be integral to the project, we never anticipated it would become such a popular spot for dog lovers. Ultimately, we see architecture as a powerful societal tool ... hopefully all the details in AIRSIDE are providing a great space for people.
What was the greatest challenge of the project? And what was the key consideration when you planned the visitor experience?
We discussed ideas of interconnectedness – this is certainly relevant in mixed-use developments. There is, of course, a complexity that comes from adjoining multiple programmes, however, there is also great opportunity. Mixed-use buildings usually become small communities with the different programmes feeding and blending into one another. The challenge here was to create a building or place that is greater than the sum of its parts, and in this – larger than itself – connecting out to the community.
As mentioned, the aspiration is for the building to be the new heart for the area. The boundaries between the different programmes are intentionally blurred. The process of community ownership will take time, but you can already see that many families visit the building and mix together with the office workers from above, visiting the roof gardens, vegetable allotments, and atrium spaces.
Our client Nan Fung Group was very much involved in the building becoming a centre in the new master plan. This was our collective vision, we worked with them closely to tell their story through various design aspects, evoking their history in textiles and tailoring qualities of fabrics through design moves such as weaves, folds, tears, and cuts. These characters are used to link up the various parts of the building, and in turn, help to spur the imagination of the local community.
Designing for green and wellbeing with innovative solutions is another challenge in large buildings with certain pressures. But we managed to achieve many accreditations and awards at AIRSIDE through a lot of teamwork, and collaborating with various consultants and experts. AIRSIDE is a LEED platinum and WELL platinum-certified mixed-use landmark that has become a beacon for its achievements. Many of these drivers will be present in our upcoming project in Bangkok – Cloud 11 for MQDC.
As the head of the Asia market, what do you see as the biggest difference in the concept of public spaces between Asia and Oslo or other Nordic countries?
Any space is vastly nuanced, and it’s always difficult to pinpoint specific differences. Of course, we must approach design with people in mind and there are differences and there are commonalities with people, and both can be celebrated. These are some of the reasons we have design offices globally (and not just offices for administering the later stages for our projects). We sincerely believe in being closer to the places we work, but we still operate globally, collaborating across different studios so we have the best of both scenarios. There are some nice commonalities across a few of our recent projects which perhaps shed some light here.
Our recently completed project for the Beijing Library shares a lot in common with our first major work for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Similarly, our pedestrianisation and refurbishment of Nanjing Road in Shanghai shares similarities with our work in New York at Times Square. Both of these spaces are unique – Times Square is about providing a stage for civic life; and our work in Nanjing Road is in someways more layered, we worked to maintain the heritage of the site and the old tram ways in order to provide different scales of space. There are even greater similarities between our Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and Shanghai Grand Opera House, and yet they are unique in their form, there are also scale and size differences that suit the complex characterisation of each city and those that will use the building. I’m really interested in the idea of interpretation and iteration, how spaces are perceived and used is a complex science. In Asia we work in a very diverse region, and the idea the designer is in control of a pristine object that will be finished and remain “as designed” is impossible. The major considerations and interpretations sometimes only begin when the project starts to be inhabited, so we must design buildings and systems that allow for this in a variety of ways.
Beijing Library
Shanghai Grand Opera House
Name a book, movie or piece of music that inspires you the most as an architect.
Difficult to choose one! Inspiration is always evolving … a book I’m reading right now is our annual poem book at Snøhetta Asia. Every other Monday a member of the team selects a poem to share in the morning meeting. At the end of the year, we gather them together in a book … there are some very nice memories stored in there, of our times together and each individual – very inspirational.
What’s next for Snøhetta in Hong Kong and the Asia region?
Next year will be a big one for us in Asia as every year seems to be! We have some very exciting projects in construction right now, and some new ones breaking ground. We’re also starting the year with some fascinating new projects on the drawing board. The big event next year will be in Hong Kong though, we will move from our current office, a treasured home for the past five/ six years, to somewhere new ... we’re looking forward to what this will bring.
