Hugh McEwen and Catrina Stewart are the directors of Office S&M, a London-based practice known for their inventive and experimental approach to materials and colour.

In this episode, Hugh, Catrina and Dave discussed:

• Their commitment to have a 50/50 split between private and public work, and how this declaration helps them differentiate themselves from other similarly sized practices.
• How having a diverse range of non-architectural collaborators on your team when pitching for public projects, such as a chef or photographer from the local community, can help to demonstrate that you understand the client, the brief and the local context.
• How playfulness and use of colour isn’t just a stylistic aesthetic in their work, but something deeply embedded in the early stages of their design process as a way to increase client and community engagement.

If you'd like to learn more about their studio, you can visit officesandm.com or follow them on Instagram at @officesandm.

Office Talk is hosted by Dave Sharp of Office D.SHARP, a strategic marketing and brand definition practice for architecture. We work collaboratively with clients across the globe. To learn more about our process and book a consultation, simply visit officedavesharp.com.

Today's episode of Office Talk was edited and engineered by Anthony Richardson of Simple Dwelling Studio.

Mary Duggan is a London-based architect known for her well-conceived and thoughtfully-detailed architecture for forward-thinking clients in the cultural and housing sectors.

In this episode, Mary and Dave discussed:

• How keeping the practice small allows her to focus on the work she wants to do, allows her to avoid some of the challenges and compromises required to sustain a larger practice.
• Why she believes architects don’t have to be involved at every stage of the design and construction process, and how her front-end focused business model is rethinking the way architecture is delivered.
• The impact other creatives such as ceramicists and composers have had on her practice, and why she believes architects should look outside architecture for inspiration.
• How making inexpensive models in the concept stage, sometimes out of cardboard, ceramics or dried flowers, allows her to communicate ideas quickly without large financial and time investments.
• Why she prefers her website and Instagram to focus on conceptual models and the ideas they represent, rather than photographs of built projects.

If you'd like to learn more about her studio, you can visit marydugganarchitects.com or follow her on Instagram at @marydugganarc.

Office Talk is hosted by Dave Sharp of Office D.SHARP, a strategic marketing and brand definition practice for architecture. We work collaboratively with clients across the globe. To learn more about our process and book a consultation, simply visit officedavesharp.com.

Today's episode of Office Talk was edited and engineered by Anthony Richardson of Simple Dwelling Studio.

Matt Loader and Iain Monteith are the directors of Loader Monteith, a Glasgow-based practice known for their approach to meaningful, local and sustainable architecture.

In this episode, Matt, Iain and Dave discussed:

• The challenges of managing clients, project scopes and costs in the early days of starting their practice, and how saying no to work that didn’t align with their vision was just as important as saying yes.
• How every small project is an opportunity that can lead to larger work in the future, but why it’s important to make sure smaller project budgets aren’t spread thin for the sake of more floor area.
• The three guiding principles they judge a potential project against to see whether or not it is a good fit for their practice, values and long-term vision.
• How they have approached their gradual shift from private residential towards public and community projects, and what adjustments they have made to their website, portfolio and practice messaging to support the transition.
• Their approach to timing project photoshoot to ensure the building has fully settled into place, and how shooting projects in the winter, which many architects avoid, has led to unexpected PR benefits for the practice.

If you'd like to learn more about their studio, you can visit loadermonteith.co.uk or follow them on Instagram at @loadermonteith.

Office Talk is hosted by Dave Sharp of Office D.SHARP, a strategic marketing and brand definition practice for architecture. We work collaboratively with clients across the UK. To learn more about our process and book a consultation, simply visit officedavesharp.com.

Today's episode of Office Talk was edited and produced by Anthony Richardson of Simple Dwelling Studio.