Mole Architects: thinking and making

Abstract

Mole Architects was set up by Meredith Bowles in 1997, and has become known for well-crafted, contextually responsive and ecologically sensitive projects. One of the claims that Mole make in their practice brochure is that their work is identified by a consistency of attitude rather than a ‘house style’. This claim emphasises thinking, analysis and process but this is balanced by the evidence presented in their realised work, which demonstrates an undeniable interest and delight in the materiality and making of buildings. Reflecting on the enduring influence of his architectural education, Bowles acknowledges this balance: ‘What I think these formative experiences refer to is a belief in the importance of things rather than ideas, or rather that ideas reside in the thing itself’.