Of all the projects architect Shaun Lockyer has helped put together, the most successful might be his own business.

In the ten years since it was established, Shaun Lockyer Architects has gone from working on 300 square metre houses in Brisbane to projects in excess of 1000 square metres anywhere from Melbourne to Cairns.

While private homes are the focus for the firm, Mr Lockyer said he and team are willing to take on anything with "an engaged client. 

What inspired you to first become an architect? What inspires you these days?

I love the mix of science, maths, psychology and art that architecture embodies.

My interest started in architecture started as a young kid with my grandfather who was a master craftsman in the real sense of the word.

I loved hearing him talk about how things were put together and showing me how to do this.

As a 10-year-old kid, I was learning about “dovetail” joints and loving how the art of making became resonant in the object which in turn offered a heightened joy to the end user.

Our work aspires to the same ideology in that we care about the process as much as the outcome itself. We love the idea that Architecture is about the embracing of a simple idea, exquisitely executed.

I am still motivated by this aspiration but also love the engagement with people from all walks of life and learning how to harness the energy and resources available for a project and using these to the achieve the best possible result.

How has this year been so far for you in terms of projects? What is the rest of the year looking like for you?

This year continues to build on very strong previous years.

That said, we are close to capacity with our workload so for us its now about consistency and quality.

We don’t wish to get any bigger as a studio as we feel that we are now of a size that can handle a range of projects while remaining small enough to be agile, intimate and fresh.

We try to gear ourselves to offering the best possible service (and outcome) rather than trying to grow and working out how to make it work.

We are all about client service and a positive experience, so this remains front of mind for us.

The future remains bright for us with projects moving more in NSW and Victoria along with more regional work which is both exciting and challenging.

That said, we take nothing for granted and work very hard to maintain a healthy and sustainable workload.

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33B Harbour Road, QLD. As seen on Luxury List

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced as an architect? 

In the residential sector, you are often building homes for people that may have had little to no experience in building, so they bring very different energy and expectations into each project.

While we like to think we can reconcile all of these varied experiences and expectations, it remains challenging to reconcile these at times given how many things there are to work through on a home.

That said, if you are to enjoy (and be any good at) this kind of work, you have to embrace the interpersonal eccentricities, anxieties and stresses.

This remains a very challenging aspect of the job but also a rewarding one when you come out of the back of a project with a happy, engaged and appreciative client.

This is what motivates me to do better, learn more and ultimately be a better architect (and human being). Every day is a new, challenging, exciting and often amazing day.

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Shaun Lockyer      Image: CSB Photography

Do see the industry facing any challenges in the coming years?

Commercially, the industry faces massive fee and service challenges with a lot of pressure on costs in general.

How to reconcile greater demands on delivering great outcomes while the costs of service, meeting legislative requirements and technological advances all increase in the face of lower fees is a very real issue.

In the residential sector we are a little more insulated from these pressures but certainly not completely.

We are working toward best practice and service so our offering is about how to achieve the best, as cost effectively as possible as opposed to trying to see how little we can do for the smallest fee.

We feel very lucky about the support we have from our clients, builders and supporters who see the value of what we do so all we can do is keep our heads down, do our best and continually reflect on our work to make sure we are relevant, sustainable and of value to the end user.

Whose work do you most admire as an architect? 

There are many people whose work I admire but of the current, living architects I constantly reflect on, it would be Marcio Kogan (MK27) from Brazil.

His considered, rational, minimal but poetic approach to his work is in a league of its own.

How do you gauge success in your role?

Happy clients.

 While we obviously want the best for the architectural outcome but it cannot be at the personal, financial or emotional cost of the clients.

We are architects who want the best for our clients with regards to experience and outcome, so we need to consider both as we work through the process.

We want out projects to be a joy from beginning to end so if we have a great outcome at the end with happy clients (and team), then we consider our job, well done!

This “happy” outcome is also the basis of future work referral so it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy with regards to the continuation of work for us as a practice.

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