the case for
Personal Architecture

Getting under the skin of every brief, making every design a personal response is really
the Pozzoni principle. The lengths to which we will go to understand the workplace or
the environment that we have been asked to create knows no bounds. When asked to
design a new care home for the elderly with a specialist dementia unit, key members of
the team were sent on courses to understand the needs of residents and their carers.

The resultant detail of design has made a huge difference to the basic daily lives of those
who live and work in this building. Knowing, for example, that many residents
sometimes have to spend much of their day in bed, windows were positioned at
‘pillow level’ providing a sense of light and space whilst bringing in an uplifting view
of the gardens.

The redevelopment of Whitley Bay on the Tyne and Wear coast stands to profit from
this personal approach. The local people, their heritage and aspirations have been taken
to heart along with the vision of the client, the council and associated agencies.
The result will be architecture which is personal to those who live in it and a testament
to the vision and insight of the client, our team and their working relationship.

Understanding how people will use and relate to the built environment
and then applying this knowledge back to the client’s brief, within the
context of current legislation and the environment at large.

From the end-user out – that’s what we mean by Personal Architecture