Johnny Winter
Partner
Johnny can trace the spark that ignited his passion for design to the day he witnessed an engine governor spinning within the sweeping beams and cams of a Victorian steam engine. The intricacy of the design left a lasting impression, which deepened following his realisation that each interdependent element combined to form an integrated whole: the goal for every architectural project.
Johnny’s appreciation of the beauty contained within integrated systems shapes his approach to design. He seeks out collaboration across the design and construction teams to establish the viability of a proposal before homing in on its resolution.
He continues to be fascinated with the mechanics of construction, and the nature of materials and their contribution to the crafting of buildings. This approach leans towards a design which responds to the local context, to its landscape and to its history.
Johnny has carried out the role of project architect for many large and complex buildings and masterplans as well as a few small buildings. The excitement within all these projects comes from those moments where a problem shared across the design team is solved between the lines separating the various disciplines.
Johnny is a Certified Passive House Designer.
Project Experience
Home of the big thinkers
The Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge was born from the struggle to solve what seemed at the time to be incompatible derivatives of opposing architectural motives; namely that our Maths Department client needed to work in generous research offices, while the projects opponents sought an architecture based on a domestic scale.
There is an interesting answer to the question ‘who designed this building?’ as here you could regard the architect as conductor - combining the individual elements served up by the ensemble of client, structural and environmental engineer - each providing an elegant solution to problems encountered.
Straddling history
At Winchester Walk, Southwark we carried out a ‘deep’ refurbishment of a 19th century hop warehouse; right down to its original footings, straddling the Roman remains of a military fort, and rebuilt it from the sub-ground up with re-purposed salvaged masonry and timber components.
The keen eyed can see that the proportions of the facade have been elongated, following the raising of each floor level to provide comfortable living and working spaces. While waiting for your steak to arrive in the ground floor Hawksmoor restaurant, you could impress your friends by finding the splice joint in the old timber columns.
Tracing the snail shell
There’s a nice story here about spirals. In 1964, shortly after Denys Lasdun had completed the design of the masterplan of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge - a series of courts emerging from a spiral geometry - Ted Cullinan began working for him and designed the student accommodation which formed the outer line of the coil.
The spiral motif has a tacit existence within the college: the gardeners have topiarised the hedges into beautiful snails which never quite cross the gardens. Forty five years later we found ourselves at the tail of the snail, where Ted’s 1964 student rooms terminate, building the college’s Olisa Library. The library could potentially form the final twist of the college masterplan.