Dear Kevin,
(Kevin Carmody from Carmody Groake, that is)
We love you.
You seduced us with your soft and considered words, dripping with poetry and architectural delight. Your charismatic presentation style and consistent eye contact made us feel like you were speaking directly to each of us and that oh-so-often smile could melt the hearts of even the harshest critic. You would ask, “so what do I mean by that?” And then, like any great captain, you’d continue to elaborate on your point. Instead of talking about your practice structure, you showed us the soul of your organisation. And because of this, you had an advantage over the larger firms we visited on the same day, like Foster + Partners and David Chipperfield Architects. Collectively, we felt it was much more useful meeting the directors of firms, which was only possible in medium-sized practices. Having said that, it was particularly interesting observe the immense scale of the larger practices. We also cheated on you briefly with our practice visits to dRMM and Studio Octopi.
Both these offices imparted many actionable takeaways, which was useful and attainably amazing.
That night, at the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition opening party (which Rory Hyde suggested we attend), we discussed trying to replicate your style. Speaking, pausing, connecting, smiling and then continuing. It is extremely difficult, but as a group we have felt inspired to get a coach to help us achieve your level of heartthrob.
It was lovely to end the day connecting with old friends Molly, Simon, Cris and Paul who came to meet the main Dulux crew for drinks – we swiftly relayed the story to them, spreading the love, and now they are also hooked.
We acknowledge this may come across as stalker-like, obsessive, psycho even – but this comes from a place of pure architectural fascination and business learnings.
Love,
P.S. Phil still wants an invite back next year.