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I visited the endless summers of my childhood. I felt my sunburned skin soothed by a slight breeze, as the windows were thrown open to the cool night air. I remembered the day I kissed my wife on our honeymoon. The ocean waves lifted us up and just as gently, put us down again.

Later that evening I bought a necklace from an old woman selling her wares in a little laneway. Hers was the only stall, and the gentle light from a single lantern evoked a time long past. I went back the next day to buy a bracelet to match, but I could not find the laneway anywhere. Memory can be a fickle thing. Maybe I’d lost my way, maybe not, but when I placed that strand of painted beads around my wife’s neck, it felt as if an even deeper promise was made.

When my son was born I wanted to present him with perfect childhood memories and perfect gifts. I had my formula but of course he had his own idea on the path he’d take. Now I feel fortunate just to walk it with him. The day I met my wife, the day I married her, the day we brought our son home are memories that occupy a corner of every day. I had a young man’s energy and will to get… where… I no longer know. Wherever ‘there’ is. I finally worked out what I wanted was not ‘there’ but ‘here’, with her.

I finally worked out what I wanted was not ‘there’ but ‘here’, with her.

When you stand still enough to notice, life separates into a collection of moments that drift into days, then years. We wonder ‘where does the time go’? And then we continue to let it roll away. But you can ask a lot from life if you’re willing to follow its lead.

Ask it to direct you to work that has a point, that brings meaning, even enjoyment to your day. Ask it to find a place to belong, a home, a place that is yours. To feel secure and joyful when you see what surrounds you, the views through the windows, the way the light falls across the floor. You can ask for the people who enrich your life to share this pleasure.

Recollection is one of the grace notes in this symphony of growing older. So many of my life’s shining moments are still so complete, so present, I can lose myself in their power and beauty. And yet every day brings an opportunity to experience something new. Life continues to show me there is so much more to know.

Sometimes, I feel it’s only just begun.

If you were to write your own memoir, what would you start with

As a project team, we are deeply inspired by little moments in life. Some are life changing, some are hard-won, and some are deeply nourishing and gratifying.

When we reflect on these moments, they are often played out within the space they occurred — the light, the colour, and the scent that surrounded us at the time.

This is why our starting point is not the design, the building, or the location — it is you.

We believe that unless we first understand who you are, your story and what you value most, it would be remiss of us to conjecture what is ideal for you.

Your story, your passion, your ambition, and your relationships all have a profound impact on your notion of a ‘home’.

We feel in order for our architectural vision to be interesting, we have to be interested first.

It is for this reason - we invite you to share your unique story, and let your memoir unfold.