Audio recording of Simon Pugh (b. 1972), Gerry Scrase (b. 1973), Simon Collier (b. 1971), Robert Purton (b. 1965), Joanna Cave (b. 1968)
NB One of the interviewees requested that his contribution should not be made accessible for 30 years, so his comments are excluded from this summary. Interviewees describe how they came to work for David Lock Associates and their first impressions of the firm and how easy it (or wasn’t) to settle in. They also talk about what has kept them at the firm and they cite being around very experienced people in an open plan office who are willing to answer queries when you walk up to them, having a lot of autonomy but also a good support network, being involved in such a wide range of projects from urban expansion to regeneration (‘variety is the spice of life’), working closely together in multi-disciplinary teams, and for those coming from a local government environment not being bothered by members and being able to have more freedom in choosing what path to follow. It’s also the social side, whether informal after work gatherings or the more formal trips abroad, that creates a family atmosphere and later in the interview recall special moments that illustrate this. Someone also mentioned that because the projects take so long to be realised that you get attached to them and have a desire to see them through. They have also stayed because they reckon the work they are engaged in is amongst the best in their field, they have interesting clients and interesting challenges. They talk about the personal influence David Lock has on the firm and refer to it as ‘huge’ , that he is a ‘true figurehead’ with a massive personality, amazing insight and not afraid to speak his mind. There is talk about how the company will change when David retires, but they believe that the company has changed and ‘grown up’ anyway since they joined, because they have grown older, had families etc and this has had an influence on the company. They believe that the culture and ethos will outlive David because it’s so deeply ingrained. ‘The individuals who make up this company are absolutely essential to what it is but it’s almost like it’s greater than the sum of its parts. It has a life of its own, a force and energy really of its own’.
Asked about David Lock Associates’s USP they talk about the individualism of each project ‘the work that we don’t come with a pre-formed view as to what this project is going to be like. It’s about taking a fresh look at each project and each client’, which they claim is not the norm for such firms. They also feel they share a common philosophy about creating good quality places for families to live in, communities – ‘It’s about the right thing in the right place’.
There’s a discussion, using Brooklands in Milton Keynes as an example how the initial idea was conceived in 1992, a strategic plan drawn up and yet government guidelines have altered several times since then that has affected such things as density levels etc, yet the core master plan has remained the same.
One interviewee talks about the importance of the experience of the building of Milton Keynes on David Lock Associates’s style and how they encourage their clients today to see themselves as ‘Master Developers’ and act as mini Development Corporations.
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