Studio boss extols the virtues of patience and hard work

London-based designer Thomas Heatherwick says he spent the best part of two decades waiting to complete his first major building. The founder and principal of Heatherwick Studio finally saw his patience rewarded this month, with the completion of the Learning Hub at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

“I have been going for more than 20 years, but it takes a long time to be trusted to work on a major project like the Nanyang Learning Hub,” said Heatherwick at the Business of Design Week (BODW) conference, organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre in November 2015.

When it came to choosing his career path, Heatherwick said he decided to set up his own studio because he wanted to fill a gap in the market that he’d identified. “I needed to find a building where I could keep the costs down, enjoy the work I was doing, and try not to go bankrupt in the process,” he told Education Post.

The designer stressed the importance of patience, and said it’s better to become immersed in the work than to seek acclaim. He said the Heatherwick Studio is a team effort where various talents come together to make a whole. “We like to work on things where we can really make a difference, and not be constrained by what has gone before,” he noted.

Heatherwick said he wanted to be an inventor when he was a child: “I remember looking at Edwardian patent books which were all about trying to solve problems like how to make a self-operating napkin, or how to keep a moustache from dipping in a drink. Those made me think I would like to be an inventor.’’ Heatherwick said he was disappointed to discover there were no designated school or university ‘inventor’ education programmes.

Deciding he wanted to pursue an all-round approach to his career, Heatherwick opted to study 3-D design at Manchester Polytechnic (now Manchester Metropolitan University). In his final year, he became the first design student to make a whole building. Heatherwick then studied at the Royal College of Art, where he met his future mentor, Terence Conran, who visited the college to give a talk in his third year.

During his BODW presentation, the celebrated designer spoke about his approach to his work. He said that that his studio does not have a fixed style, and instead focuses on problem-solving driven by exhaustive field research, rigorous thinking, and tough questioning. Since its foundation in 1994, the studio has worked in an extensive range of design disciplines, including architecture, engineering, transport, and urban planning, as well as furniture, sculpture, and product design.