INDUSTRY UPDATES
ARCHITECT IN PROFILE
In this Q&A, Bill Webb, Architect and Co-Founder of Able Partners, reflects on his journey from art student to architectural innovator. Bill discusses the pivotal moments that shaped his career, the inspirations behind his designs and his insights into the architectural world. Discover how his unique experiences have influenced his approach to creating impactful spaces. ABLE PARTNERS
BILL WEBB IS THE CO-FOUNDER OF ABLE PARTNERS
Lincoln’s Inn Tell us about your career journey. How did you get started in the field of architecture? It always seems to start in a fantastic school art department, doesn’t it? Developing photographs, screen printing, casting plaster and Jesmonite models, and learning about the history of art. I had a place to study fine art but spent the summer before university as an assistant to an Architect called Anthony Blee. As we travelled to planning enquiries and construction sites, Anthony would tell stories about the characters and gossip behind projects, and I saw architecture in a new way. Cities were about people, and it took collaboration, hard work and tenacity to create them. Architecture has an important social function, and I wanted to be part of that. I changed my degree last minute and am delighted that I did! Were there any pivotal moments or experiences that solidified your decision to pursue a career in architecture and design? My first job out of university was in Hong Kong. Fast, dense, intense, filled with modern architecture and incredibly fun. I was 22, working hard by day and exploring the city at night. This is probably where I became a skyscraper geek, eating my lunch in the shadow of Fosters’ HSBC and I.M. Pei’s Bank of China and getting the ferry home to Tsim Sha Tsui, where I could see the whole skyline.
www.ablepartners.co.uk FC& A – OCTOBER – 2024
If you hadn’t followed your passion for being an architect, what other career path would you have pursued? I’m optimistic about cities and their role in addressing climate change, inequality, longevity and other big challenges we face. At Able Partners, we conceive and deliver ideas 8
that improve cities and the experience of being in them. If I wasn’t doing this as an architect, I would have liked to do it in Government. Who has been your greatest influence and source of inspiration? Richard Rogers and Norman Foster. In my artobsessed adolescence, ‘high tech’ was in full flow. Rogers was the unofficial city architect of London under Ken Livingston, and big ideas were being delivered in the can-do attitude of the 1990s. The Lloyds building, Millennium Dome, Terminal 5, Channel 4, The Gherkin, City Hall, Millennium Bridge – their designs are the backdrop to the London I grew up in. What’s been the most memorable project you’ve worked on? I spent 10 years at Make Architects, a great London practice designing large buildings. In my first four years, I worked on 5 Broadgate, a vast Swiss bank located next to Broadgate Circle. It was controversial, mainly because it was the first time a major office building was not clad in glass. It looked somewhat alien to its surroundings, but advanced in performance and sustainability. To work with a world-class team on something ahead of its time and weather the ensuing storm was good preparation for my career. Can you share a personal anecdote or experience that taught you a valuable lesson about being an architect? When I finished my Part 2, there weren’t many jobs available, and I managed to get a role at a small London practice. Most friends had gone to impressive firms, but I learned a lot about managing clients, basic accounting and project management.