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Finding the right spark for more livable cities
WHO is he?
British architect Stephen Pimbley was born in the late 1950s into an environment that was embracing all things new, America, plastics, synthetic clothing, television, Marc Bolan and David Bowie. The 1960s and 1970s were perhaps two decades of unrivaled experimentation coupled with the naivety of youth. The 1970s ended with the explosion of Punk Rock and Pimbley’s life was never the same again; anything was possible post the Clash and the Sex Pistols.
In 1978 he moved from his hometown Cardiff to London to study design and learn how to be an architect. However it was not until his first job at Richard Rogers London office that he really understood how to put architectural theories, especially on urbanism, into practice. He is now director of the architecture and urban design practice, SPARK.
Tell us about some of your works, and name the one you are most proud of.
The Rogers’ office basically cemented my love of the city and how to make the city more livable. This is a preoccupation that still underpins the work we do at SPARK. Our Solar Orchid project is a good example where we have picked up on the zeitgeist of Singapore and added something that reflects on the culture of food and eating (Makan culture) and the relationship Singapore has with the water.
What is your latest project?
Spark’s directors including myself are involved with all of the projects across our four studios. It is our passion for design that maintains and drives our ambition to make great buildings and environments.
Describe your style.
As a young architect I was enamored with the British High Tech movement, functional architecture where each building component was given legibility as part of an overall composition. This type of architecture is still at the root of how I design, again this is clearly evident in the Solar Orchid project and other SPARK projects such as Clarke Quay.
Where are you most creative?
Somewhere where you least expect it. I remember one night waking up with an idea and had to get up to make a simple model from fuse wire at 4am. The model went on to become Spark’s Shanghai Kiss, an iconic 240 meter ride planned for the banks of the Huangpu River and the Shanghai Expo of 2010.
What do you collect?
Since a boy I have collected stamps from the reigns of Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V and George VI. The world was a very different place back then with many countries having changed hands and names more than once. I love the texture and colors of the stamps especially those that were heavily postmarked, an indelible mark of their crossing of the globe by boat and train.
What’s your favorite area in Shanghai?
Shanghai is one of the few world mega cities that displays with equal measure the qualities of the urban metropolis and the old city villages.
The former French concession is perhaps where I feel most comfortable wandering the tree-lined streets looking into the myriad of small shops that spill onto the pavement creating an environment that is uniquely Shanghainese.
What will be the next big design trend?
I have no crystal ball, even if I did I would not be tempted to call in the next trend. Do they exist? Not so sure if they do.
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