Dezeen Magazine

Architects should be wary of "thinking that they know how to do everything" - Studio Weave

In this first movie from the series we filmed at our Designed in Hackney Day of talks and discussions, architects Maria Smith and Je Ahn of Studio Weave speak to Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs about projects including a bench for 300 people and how they believe "a trap that architects can fall into is thinking that they know how to do everything."

The Longest Bench by Studio Weave

They also offer a few anecdotes about what they believe captures the spirit of the London borough of Hackney, including a birthday party centred around stitching a quilt and a pop-up restaurant among some roadworks, and talk about a latticed timber hut on stilts (below) to explain how history and love have influenced their work.

Paleys upon Pilers by Studio Weave

Taking place at Hackney House in the heart of Shoreditch during the Olympics, Designed in Hackney Day celebrated the incredible diversity of design talent in the borough as well as providing a platform to discuss both the opportunities and threats to creative businesses in this fast-changing part of London. We'll be publishing more talks from the day on Dezeen over the coming weeks but in the meantime you can find out more about the other discussions from Designed in Hackney Day in our highlights reported here.

Designed in Hackney is a Dezeen initiative to showcase world-class architecture and design created in the borough, which was one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices.

See more stories about design and architecture from Hackney here, or click here to see more projects by Studio Weave.