Travelling through space – Q&A with architect Benni Allan

Benni Allan is a distinctly unconventional architect – and a very busy man. Founder of the multifaceted spatial-design practice estudio b, he specialises in the creation of spaces for human engagement – whether with one another or with the shapes, materials, textures and landscapes around them.

His collaborative ethos, process/material-driven approach and thoughtful, elegant output has attracted the eye of the in-the-know architectural crowd (‘One to Watch’ according to the British Design Council in 2015 and a RIBA Rising Star shortlistee last year), but Benni’s not in it for the glory. More interested in how buildings are lived in than how they’re looked at, the Spanish-born spacemaker has some intriguing projects on the go – including an artist collaboration on top of Peckham Levels, and his own primary school.

We spoke to him about what he’s up to today – and what brought him here…

How has your experience working with other architecture firms in London and China affected your approach?

I decided to move to China after my bachelor’s degree to experience working in a completely different culture to what I was used to, and because I’ve always been fascinated by Asia. From day one I was encouraged to develop a way of working that matched my creative drive and interest in building things. Within about three months I was able to see a project run from concept to construction, and the experience I gained on site and delivering the project is something I still look back on today. It was the confidence I built up through that experience that has set me up for the work I do now, and an ability to work efficiently to deliver projects of high quality. Later, I assisted on a few competitions for 42 Architects in London, one of which involved the contentious relocation of Southbank’s skatepark, and another to reimagine a public space on Old Street roundabout.

After graduating from university, I was fortunate to work with Niall McLaughlin, where I spent a couple of years working on arts, cultural, education and housing projects, including a few major buildings for some quite prestigious colleges in Oxford and Cambridge. Although the projects I work on now are of a different scale, the process of working with programmes and organising space is very similar. I have carried with me an obsession about working through every detail and a material-investigative approach to making objects, buildings and spaces.

The Venice Architecture Biennale is just about to start – how important has working there been for your career?

Working on the Venice Biennale was a huge privilege given the significance of the exhibition but more importantly, because of the opportunity, it offered to deliver a beautiful and meaningful installation at the end of a six-month investigation into the role of architecture for people with dementia. This has led to other research and an understanding of the ways in which design can impact people’s lives, as well as more theoretical readings of how humans situate themselves in space and how experiences of places can be so drastically different for people with cognitive deficiencies.  

On a more practical level, being part of the commissioning team representing a national pavilion offered a great insight into the efforts of delivering a project on the world stage. I was able to develop new relationships and work with an incredible team of makers, drawers, visual and sound artists, graphic designers and a whole load of other inspiring individuals. That aspect of working with a team of different creative practitioners is now a huge part of the way our studio functions.

Tell us more about the project you’re working on for Peckham Levels’ public arts programme Bold Tendencies…

I was invited to collaborate with the artist João Vasco Paiva on a large art installation called Home – a project which touches on the primitive method of making structures for inhabitation. João is from Portugal but has spent a number of years in Hong Kong where he has a studio and is represented by the gallery Edouard Malingue. His work is very much about process, and involves interrogating the complex relationships of humans and material things in a spatial way, which resonated highly with my own interests. João’s sensibility and my interest in making offered great potential for collaboration.

The idea for the project was to make a structure from traditional cob blocks and clay mortar, similar to the archaic houses found in southern Europe, but equally to appear as if it could have been made anywhere in the world. Because João is based in Asia, I was commissioned to help design the installation from his original idea, including sourcing materials and contractors, through to managing the project and ensuring buildability was achievable on top of the multi-story carpark in Peckham, both practically and conceptually. I enjoyed the challenge of working with an unfamiliar material, yet one that has been used for centuries to make buildings. It involved quite in-depth research and consultancy with specialists who had the knowledge of working with cob buildings.

Home will be up for the duration of the opening of Bold Tendencies this summer, next to Frank’s on top of Peckham Levels. The piece is designed around the theme of ecology and will take on a ruinous quality, while the form will appear slightly familiar and, at the same, contrast with the permanent floor-based installation by Richard Wentworth, with the markings crashing quite provocatively into the walls of the structure.

We loved your essay on La Muralla Roja, How do you feel you Spanish heritage affects your architectural practice?

Growing up in Spain is something that I sometimes take for granted, but return to more and more as a point of inspiration. I was brought up in a region that is dominated by its weather and the landscape, and I think that has always made me very aware of materials and nature. The topography of the area is very mountainous and has meant that towns have developed in an ad hoc manner, with the villages closest to my home reminiscent of the white towns, people associate with the Greek coast.

Something that is very distinctive to those villages, and the ones I still spend most time in when I go home, is the sense of gathering – the natural custom of people coming together. That idea of social interaction comes back into our projects, whether we are dealing with a performance space or in the spatial organisation of a new building. Likewise, although I am very influenced by my experiences of working in practice and the architecture of London, I still find inspiration in the physical qualities of the spaces I grew up in. As the south of Spain is so hot, buildings are designed to cool and create shade, often with very intimate courtyards and covered terraces that become an extension of the home. Most buildings are made in brick or stone, painted in a tone to reflect the heat of the sun and topped by a deep-red terracotta roof. This gives towns quite a monotonous physical appearance from far away, yet the variety of surface texture and the colour of individual buildings is incredibly rich when experienced up close, made even more impressive when cast in deep shadow. Maybe not directly, but an interest in light and the materiality or application of surface treatments is something that carries through in the work.

Tell us about the school in Spain that you’re working on...

The project is something I am very excited about and is the result of a coming together of various ideas and ambitions to try revitalise a tired prefab building used as a primary school that my father has run for nearly 40 years. It also happens to be where I was taught from the age of two to 16, and more recently has had support from my younger brother in running the school, so the project means a lot to me.

We are aiming to construct the project as a self-build this summer, with the assistance of some students I teach at university. It’s designed as a tiled mural made from different sized cladding panels in the terracotta colour that is so dominant in the region. The project is to be completed within a really tight budget and has meant we’ve had to be clever about the materials we use, but I don’t think this will affect the final outcome. I’m most excited to see how the schoolchildren react to their new building!

Check out more of Benni Allan's mind-blowing work here.