Objects of desire: Richard Parr on stone, sketchbooks and Somerset
Richard Parr, Founder of the eponymous design studio, shares his latest obsessions and inspirations; from the ritual of putting pen to paper to the material that is at the heart of the studio’s work
HOTEL DREAMING
"It might be too obvious a choice because of all the work our studio has carried out and is creating with The Newt in Somerset, from The Farmyard to the newly completed Yarlington Lodge which opens this summer. However, both the open brief we have had and the trust put in me and my studio has allowed us to create something extraordinary there; the ultimate experience. I never tire of visiting. I am there weekly for work but it would be amazing to have the time to just visit for pleasure and take stock of the whole estate."
Image is of Yarlington Lodge at The Newt in Somerset, designed by Richard Parr. Image credit: The Newt
WHAT I'M READING
"Travel Sketches: Alvaro Siza. I still believe that the quickest way of transmitting and explaining an idea is through a pencil or a pen. I started sketching as a student and it is embedded into my practice. All the creatives that I admire draw. I find it fascinating to see the immediacy and the simplicity of expression in a sketch book. For me, sketching is a diary and I always find time to draw when I am traveling because it brings to me another level of seeing. I bought a book on Alvaro Siza’s travel sketches nearly 40 years ago and I still pull it off the shelf occasionally as a reminder that less can be more."
Image is of Travel Sketches. Image credit: Alvaro Siza
THE FINISHING TOUCH
"Julia Mottram’s Wool Panels. We recently opened our own gallery, BRINK, adjacent to our London studio and had the opportunity to showcase the incredible work of Julia Mottram who makes wool panels with just water, wool and bars of soap from Marseille. They make excellent rugs and wall hangings. Her reverence for raw materials, the dedication she shows for her craft, and her profound sense of ecological responsibility, is something we should all wish to emulate."
Both images are of Julia Mottram’s, slow wool design rugs. Image credit: Julia Mottram
MATERIAL OF THE MOMENT
"Limestone is at the heart of our work. Our studio in the Cotswolds is built from it and many of our projects sit on the Oolitic limestone belt, which passes from central England all the way down through the Cotswolds, Somerset and Dorset. It reflects the geological history of each area and changes every few miles. It is this variety, which gives it the unique connection to locality and so much of the English vernacular. We use it in so many ways and I love its strata, colours, fossils and texture."
Image is of limestone. Image credit: Raymond Petrik
ARCHITECTURAL ARTWORK
"The work of artist Rogelio Baez Vega, whose work I encountered in NADA in Miami in 2022. The pieces are depictions of modernist buildings. The modernist movement is an area of fascination and interest to me. I have several pieces of his work in our studio in London."
Modernist buildings by Rogelio Baez Vega. Image credit: courtesy of adhesivo contemporary
From SPACE: Issue 61
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