Earlier this week The Modern House hosted its inaugural Supper Club in partnership with The New Craftsmen.

On a cool autumn evening, friends and guests gathered at the New Craftsman showroom in Mayfair for lively conversation with architect Simon Astridge and artist-designer Gareth Neal. Over supper prepared by Anthropologists of Eating and wines from Journey’s End, Simon and Gareth opened a discussion of the deep links between craft and architecture.

As Gareth noted, “Since Man and Woman first made shelter they engaged in the processes of material manipulation, now these activities have titles such as Architecture and Craft. However the relationships between these two disciplines are critical, materials have the ability to provide, not just safety and security but also generate emotional responses, through their tacit qualities, and the methods they are worked. A good architect will understand the importance of this relationship, and foster the importance of people, process and place, to create architecture that can provide richer relationships for us all.”

As practitioners with a shared appreciation of collaborative process, the dialogue addressed the distinction of their individual approaches but highlighted how richer work resulted from the creative involvement of their clients and other makers.

While the risk of experimenting with new processes, materials and artisans needs to be balanced, both identified how it enabled progression and innovation.

Simon emphasised the value of looking at the integration of all of the crafts in the design of a space and the specialist knowledge and skills that each bring.

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