Moments of delight: the practice that makes memorable architecture

Based in Parnell, Auckland, the boutique practice has a team of five and places considerable value on involving the craftspeople who will ultimately bring a design to life. It is an approach that also allows the studio to explore ideas with a greater understanding of how materials, construction methods and detailing can influence the finished building.

There is another thread running through its work, however, that Clarke particularly enjoys exploring: creating what he calls “moments of delight”.

For S2A, this begins with an interest in the unknown and a willingness to explore different ways of responding to each brief. The site, its surroundings and the people who will use the building all help inform the outcome, with the aim of creating something individual and enjoyable to experience.

Sometimes that sense of delight is established from the moment someone arrives; the practice often designs entry sequences and doors that create a sense of anticipation, with even the handle becoming an opportunity to introduce a detail that relates to the wider design.

At his own home, for example, the experience of moving through the building is carefully choreographed. In situ concrete walls at the entry mark a change in level, while a narrow glass slot draws the eye through to the next space. Each room has its own feeling and orientation, making the journey through the house an experience in itself.

Other moments are more unexpected. At a project in Matakana, the studio found an inventive way to bring light into concrete walls. Instead of simply filling the holes left by the concrete formwork tie rods, the team inserted clear perspex. As daylight moves around the building, small shafts of light filter through these openings, creating a subtle detail that might easily have been overlooked.

At another project, circular skylights were introduced in response to a circular staircase, allowing the geometry of one architectural element to inform the experience of the spaces below.

“These aren't tricks, they're just what I call moments of delight,” Clarke says. “As you walk through a building, you get these little moments that are quite special. You might just stop and think, 'Oh wow, that's a really interesting idea.'”

The relationship between a building and its history can offer another opportunity for these moments. When an older house is removed to make way for a new one, Clarke likes to find ways of retaining something of the original building, whether through salvaged materials or architectural references that establish a connection with what was there before.

It is an approach that extends to alteration projects, too, where the studio looks for ways to create a thoughtful link between old and new. The result can be a sense of continuity, while still allowing the building to evolve.

Place is equally important to the studio's larger architectural gestures. At The Crossing, a project at Pakiri Beach, the form of the building was developed in response to the distinctive Hen and Chickens Islands offshore. Clarke describes the process as crafting a sculptural form that acknowledges the islands and the buildings beyond, establishing a relationship between the architecture and its coastal setting.

For the practice, the common thread is an ongoing curiosity about what architecture can offer people and how a building might enrich their experience of a place.

He is particularly interested in exploring materials and the way they come together, as well as seeing how younger architects are approaching form and construction. But ultimately, he returns to the importance of creating beautiful spaces for people to inhabit and enjoy.

“It's about creating buildings that relate to the environment we're in,” he says. “And I think it's important that we can look back 25 or 30 years later and still feel that a design resonates and understand why we made it the way we did.”

It is this commitment to curiosity and collaboration that keeps Studio2's architecture evolving, while ensuring its buildings remain thoughtful, enduring responses to the people and places they serve. 

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