Reginald Fairfax

Fifteen questions, off-duty.

Role on the line

Founder and head of studio. I sign off the scope, hold the deadline, and read the contract that nobody else wants to.

Where I grew up

Sofia. Pre-war apartments off Graf Ignatiev, trams that argued with the rain, a courtyard that smelled of linden in May.

Training

UACEG Sofia for the diploma, then the Bartlett for a year of practice. Sofia taught me load paths; London taught me planning argument.

Years on the line

Eighteen. Ten at a Clerkenwell CGI house lighting verified views before I opened AVL.

The blade I bring

The brief. I read it three times before anyone touches a polygon. The brief is the duel; the render is just the report.

Architect I would ride out for

Peter Zumthor. Slow, material, and unapologetic about silence.

Materials that read true on screen

Bulgarian red clay tile, Portland stone, salvaged London brick, oiled brass. Things that age in your favour.

Software I cannot lose

A printed copy of the National Planning Policy Framework. Software comes and goes; policy is forever.

Earliest architectural memory

Sitting on a wooden chair in a Rila Monastery cell, learning that a thick wall keeps two summers out at once.

The brief I am proudest of

A St James's office retrofit that walked through Westminster planning without a single revised view.

On the headphones while working

Goran Bregović for a sprint, Arvo Pärt for a long edit, Lili Ivanova when I need the studio to remember itself.

London view I never tire of

The walk over Waterloo Bridge eastbound at dusk. Half the city in silhouette, the other half in colour grade.

Coffee or tea

Bulgarian coffee, slow, in a small cup. Then English breakfast tea once the calls begin.

Off the line

Sunday lunch with my mother on a video call to Sofia, then a long walk on Hampstead Heath.

The motto on my desk

"All for the brief, the brief for all." It was a joke at first. It stuck.