The Antony Di Mase Interview. Principal, Di Mase Architects

Antony Di Mase is the Principal of Di Mase Architects. He credits his companies “collaborative studio culture” for much of it’s success in creating designs that embrace originality and culture. If it is true that a company can be evaluated on even the smallest part of its business, (and illumni believes it is), then Di Mase Architects is to be applauded.

Their website for example, dimasearchitects.com.au is a simple yet elegant encapsulation of their work and the way in which they create it. The following interview with Antony Di Mase is just as well considered.

Your philosophy and approach to architecture are highly evolved and well defined.   How long did it take to confirm your vision of how you like to do business?

I am always trying to define the work I do in relation to a bigger picture.  It is really important and it probably relates to my personality more than anything else.  Certainly my passion for day lighting has given me a new lease of life when it comes to my work as an architect.  It makes sense that architecture is really the art of moderating that abundant source of light and energy we call the sun.  This idea combines well with my passion for creative re-use of buildings and connecting interior spaces to the outside world.  I simply do not know how long it has taken to confirm my vision but what I can say is there is much to do in order for these ideas to find expression through our work and that is really what we are committed to.

‘Creative Reuse’, ‘Re Imagine Space’, and ‘Reinvigorating Design’ are very powerful and emotive phrases you use to describe your approach to particular projects, how understanding and appreciative are prospective clients of this terminology?

I am not really sure how well prospective clients appreciate these terms.  Often a client has a problem to resolve and somehow they see me as being able to solve that problem or not.  On some level they get what I do but I am not sure they can articulate it.  It is a bit like feeling your way around an elephant blind folded – depending on which bit you feel will lead to a different picture of the whole.  Certainly clients get those terms by the end of any project, which is really pleasing.  I think a project unlocks a kind of puzzle about my work and me when it is completed.  There is a feeling to my work that even I don’t really get until it is finished.  But everything feels right at the end and the hard work counts for something when people occupy the space and they look happy and well.  It is a good thing to do.

Would it be fair to say that the rules and regulations that some see as limiting and restrictive, you see as challenging and in some cases inspiring?

I certainly think the regulations around town planning are restrictive and have never made much sense to me.  But any other regulations which seek to make buildings more environmentally friendly, safer places to occupy and more accessible are good regulations to have.

Likewise, tight budgets should not be seen as diminishing creativity?

No – tight budgets are great.  I love having a clear sense of how much a client is willing to spend and that they seek ways to best fit their needs with their financial expectations.  Ambiguity around budgets is more of a problem because as an architect it is like designing on shifting sand and it is difficult to know what decisions should and shouldn’t be made.

Is there a point in the development of a project where creativity and practicality can become unbalanced?

No not in my opinion.  I like design because it is finding that balance between creativity and usefulness.  It is a challenge but when I have found that balance it is immensely gratifying.

Light obviously has a large role to play in your designs? Unlike wood and steel and glass and clay and other tangible building materials light only exists in one dimension. How easier or harder is it then to integrate light into your designs and convey your vision to clients?

Light is simply the most fantastic medium to play with and it has become something that we want to integrate more and more into our work.  The subtlety of daylight and the way day light can connect people to the outside environment is fantastic.  Artificial light by itself can be constant and often bleaches the space – whereas the movement of the sun and the effects of weather, season and time of day means that the effect of light is constantly changing the character of the space.  It is a very simple and effective way to connect people to their environment but it does require a lot of time and understanding to fully utilize daylight design in buildings.

 Have advances in technology made it easier to feature lighting in your designs?

Artificial Lighting is becoming an amazingly complex beast and the array of choices is making it tough to work out what to do as an architect.  I am interested in achieving low light levels and subtle lighting effects wherever possible so that the lighting is enhancing the architecture.  I am not into feature lighting as such but it is also crazy to ignore the amazing lights out there that can enhance the design of a room.  More than anything I would like to see local designers encouraged and local manufacturing being retained through the work we do.

 Your designs almost seem to have a ‘goodness’ about them, i.e. they are sensitive to the environment, to the neighbors, to the site, to the materials. which makes the outcomes incredibly viable for the times in which we live? 

Well I am very interested in something that is substantially moderate in its outcome. It is why I am so interested in Loius Kahn and other architects.  There is something substantial about the work that endures – a richness that is built on an appreciation of history and the embodied energy of human beings and their values.  It is something to do with tidal motion rather than the breaking of waves.  It is not always sexy work but I think there is something to substance and weight that I am keen to explore through the work I do.  It risks being too conventional at times, so I have to always look for what underpins the form and structure and seek ways to give expression to an idea of shelter and home.  It is an ongoing theme in the work I do and runs counter to the consumer culture we inhabit in 2011.

You end your website with two things that are usually missing from most other pieces of communication, you say thank you to the reader and you invite them to make contact with you. It’s a nice way to do business?

Well I guess so – my office is in a shop front in North Fitzroy – not the groovy part of North Fitzroy.  The office was occupied by my father for many years.  He had a knack of welcoming everyone who came through the door and found a way to connect to them and their story. When he passed away I made a promise to myself to always be friendly to anyone who crossed the threshold of my office – so I guess the website is a continuation of that idea.  I think it is important to communicate the pleasure of design and architecture to the community in a way that allows them to feel part of what we do.  Mind you, I have had some very strange encounters with people in North Fitzroy in the 9 years here! I guess it just goes with the philosophy of making people feel welcomed and supported in whatever they choose to do.

ANTONY DI MASE
FOUNDER, DI MASE ARCHITECTS
http://www.dimasearchitects.com.au

Antony Di Mase is the prinicipal and founder of Di Mase Architects, a small but diverse practice based in North Fitzroy. Since 2001 their work has included a wide range of residential, commercial and local government projects, with a strong focus on the creative reuse of existing buildings. Lighting, both natural and artificial, is an emerging passion of Antony and his team.