Studio Egret West

摘要

2019 was the year Studio Egret West (SEW) came of age, reflects founding director David West. The Clerkenwell-based practice, which makes its debut in the AJ100 this year, is certainly on the up, adding 20 members of staff and overseeing a string of significant project completions, including the Western Riverside development scheme in Bath and the transformation of a narrow, vacant site in Barking into 291 mixed-tenure homes. Despite its growth, the practice is keen to retain its much-cherished studio identity. 'As we started to grow last year - from around 50 to 70 people - you're suddenly considered a large practice. This was never our intention; we are keen to keep our collegiate office spirit alive', he says. SEW also celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2019 and gives the sense that it is meeting that particular milestone with a renewed sense of purpose. The studio's newly minted website showcases its thought leadership approach, with a clarified manifesto of seven guiding design principles, including 'the power of happenstance and chance discovery'.