McCloy + Muchemwa

Practice Statement

We like to think that our studio’s work demonstrates an inventive exploration of design thinking, but one that also has a great deal of respect for the artistic process. Our projects are often collaborative and investigate the notion of 'imaginative inhabitation', so for this we try to embed playfulness, human scale and plenty of spatial variation - physically manipulating models is one of the best and most fun ways of unlocking the value of playfulness in our designs, and it is super-important that they are assembled by hand, even if some parts come from the 3D printer or are 'readymade'. We enjoy digital production also, however thinking with our hands and toggling back-and-forth between sketching, model making, and the computer gives a richness to the process and hopefully, in turn, to the real building or installation.

Sometimes a small sculptural study in an unusual material or medium will turn-up unexpectedly for discussion, as often we seek refuge outside of the seriousness and responsibility of the primary work environment to make them. Sometimes a model sits completely outside of paid project work and is just tackling a preoccupation or research interest of ours. At other times we have used individual and group model making as part of the community engagement and co-design processes, to great effect.

Regardless of the initial reason to make them, models are key to our practice's experimentation and they decorate our workspaces, whilst acting as a useful repertoire of forms.