In Practice: With MLA Glasgow.

MLA has a presence in multiple cities. Glasgow, Edinburgh, and most recently, Manchester.

Having Studios in Glasgow and Manchester ourselves, we've gotten to know the teams in each region well over the last few years, truly admiring the wealth of knowledge and creativity they all collectively share.

The Glasgow team specifically supported the opening of our Scotland Studio - offering insight into the local professional climate here. And this is something we'll always be grateful for.

With countless award-winning projects under their belts - in sectors from distillery to residential and workplace, to name a few - a real sense of 'community', and the bringing together of people - appears to lie at the heart of each and every one. And at MLA's core, in general.

When Darren Clanford, co-founder & creative director, Sam Lees, marketing manager, and Laura Connelly, editor-in-chief - all Material Source Studio, were welcomed to the Glasgow office by Gillian Stewart, director, and Kay Quillan, marketing manager - both MLA, alongside the rest of the team, this was not only evident, but palpable.

The studio space itself, which MLA has had, Gillian told us, for "10-years this year", is situated in the Innovation District of Glasgow. Take a look behind the scenes...

An evolution: From projects to people

On the wall, Gillian directs us to a photograph of the first project the Glasgow team completed - The Hendrick's Gin Palace.

"Hendrick's is owned by Grant's Whisky", Gillian said, "and we went down to see them in Girvan on the West Coast. We were pitching for a new mash tun house, and a visitor's centre. We did the pitch, and they said, 'that's great - forget the mash tun house' - it's still never happened - 'we'd like you to design the Hendrick's Gin Palace instead'.

"Grant's was looking to substantially increase its gin production, so on the technical side, six new stills would be added. And when it came to the design, we were inspired by the steampunk, Victoriana aesthetic of their brand."

This project proved pivotal, Gillian stated. "It allowed us to set up our Glasgow studio."

Gillian added that, following this, corporate clients such as KPMG came next.

The MLA Glasgow team initially started up in a co-working space - "on King Street", taking up four desks at first, before quickly "filling the whole table", Gillian shared. With samples out, and a chatty collaborative approach, it became clear a dedicated office was needed - "everyone thought we were too noisy, but our response was, 'well, we're creative!'"

Nine-years ago, MLA chose Candleriggs as its Glasgow home. This was due to its offer of many different settings, Gillian said, its slightly unconventional layout perfectly suiting the needs of a busy studio of architects and designers requiring a variety of zones.

"We've evolved the workspace over the last eight-years", Gillian told us. Particularly since lockdown. This has also had an impact on the team's work pattern, Kay added. "We've moved to a nine-day fortnight for some of the team, and that's changed the way we're using the office. Some days are busier than others for this reason."

The team now stands at 24 in Glasgow, which Gillian referred to as "a good sized cohort." And that's split between 60% architects, and 40% interior designers, strategic consultants and technologists. "Though we all work on multiple projects, all the time", Gillian added. Collaboration also takes place across all MLA's offices. And due to the scale of expertise housed within MLA, project work can range from concept right through to fit out.

"We offer a full-integrated service", said Kay. "From Gillian's team which does the consultancy and change-management, to the fit out of the space."

Acoustically adapting the unconventional

Heading into what Gillian calls, "quite a strange meeting room", we entered a tall room with a skinny window at the top (we later discover that this looks through from an attic space above). There's almost a nautical feel about this space with original bolted metal features, and a set of ladders. Reading this you might assume it felt clinical. But, au contraire. It was cocoon-like and as Darren commented, really very calming.

This is the resulting impact of a collaboration with Arup, Gillian explained. They tested the acoustics in both the meeting room and the main space, and had "never heard anything quite as resonant". The solution was to "put a woolly hat on it", Gillian said. So the product solution - by Ecophon - is the "acoustic equivalent of a woolly hat", she added.

This product is used a lot for college projects, Gillian shared, and on giving it a test with a whistle, it was obvious why - there was no reverberation or echo whatsoever. Baffles were specified for the main office.

"You got some good advice there", said Darren, "too much acoustic absorption can actually feel quite odd. This has struck the balance."

A pop of colour

Though there are many different spaces within the MLA Glasgow office, they all feel very much related. Pops of bright orange are well-placed and echo MLA's branding (the practice recently underwent a rebrand) - we first noticed it on the stairs - contrasted with pink, and there's a flow to the comfortable furniture throughout. Both sit and stand options are offered to suit personal styles of working.

It's beautifully designed. But of course, you wouldn't expect anything less.

The 'secret' attic space which we mentioned earlier with a "spy window" down into the meeting room below is a quiet, residential-like room tucked away and perfect for 'heads down' tasks or more intimate discussion, Gillian and Kay told us.

On this note of discussion, collaboration is hugely important, Gillian said. "Particularly when we're working on large projects. Say you have a team of 10 working on one scheme, and you've got individual focuses, you need to know how it all fits together. It's easier to do that in the office."

Crafted design details

Gillian points out some handcrafted wooden pieces around the office including a bench lovingly referred to as, "Frank". These were made by local woodworker and furniture designer, Derek Welsh, who the team often works with on its client projects, Gillian said.

Darren spotted the concrete columns supporting the mezzanine area on which we were stood. They've been left in their raw state, showing the metal beneath, and really add an industrial edge, which contrasts perfectly with the softer details aforementioned.

On a practical level, no space has been left to waste. A sample library exists on the mezzanine corridor, neatly organised. Keeping it up-to-date is a work in progress they said. But this considered use of space, once again, was catalysed by Covid, Gillian told us. "We needed more spaces for people - especially to work as a two or three. Lots of choice."

Looking down into the main hub of activity, trestle tables are laid out with product and material moodboards curated by the team. These are for two clients (Financial Services and Legal).

For the Financial Services client, MLA is working on a retrofit project in Edinburgh - a building which is part Victorian and part 1970’s concrete construction, Gillian shared. "The 1970’s part of the building has a low slab to slab height - and we've stripped out as much of the ceilings as we can to get maximum head-height. It's going to be a lovely project, with a great sustainability story."

Heading back downstairs, we noticed another private setting that can be closed off with a curtain. This was also complete with a darts board.

What's unique about Glasgow?

Chatting about the first project Gillian worked on for KPMG, which really celebrated the heritage of Glasgow, and what makes the city unique, our conversation turned to Charles Rennie Mackintosh. "The client asked us to consider what makes Glasgow unique", Gillian shared. "They were really keen to get the Glasgow and Mackintosh vibe into the fit-out.

"We did a lot of research around how Mackintosh approached his buildings and interiors, and revealed he was inspired to create spaces which played with light, and how it changes very quickly here because of the weather. This is why he chose pale colours and elongated simple forms because they reflected the colour of the sky - so that's what we grabbed for our own interpretation in KPMG's workspace.

"Their building had long, skinny windows, which provided vertical slices of Glasgow's architecture - from Victorian, to 1960s, to the wind farm beyond, and the Clyde - it was such a nice place. And it was capturing that essence within the project."

Looking at the wider, historical context of Glasgow, Gillian offered, "If you think about the history of the UK, it was the cities on the East that were important before the discovery of America. That's when the Western ports came into their own, and this drove Glasgow’s shipbuilding industry at the end of the 19th Century.

"Skilled craftsmen were needed and many travelled from across the globe to work in Glasgow. Many of those workers were Japanese. This introduced the Glasgow artists and designers to a Japanese simple aesthetic, and you can see this reflected in Mackintosh’s work. Prior to this, connections were made between the Eastern cities.

"It's not all stained glass roses", Gillian added.

We continued this chat with the wider team over coffee and doughnuts - from local baker, Tantrum Doughnuts, a Glasgow staple.

Though we could have stayed all day, we left the team to their project work, and headed back to Material Source Studio through the heart of the city centre.

Taking a little more time than usual, enlivened by our conversation with Gillian and the team, we were careful on this occasion to look up and study the buildings in more detail than we'd perhaps ever done before. Next time you're in Glasgow, we'd urge you to do the same.

A huge thanks to Gillian, Kay and the team at MLA Glasgow - we really enjoyed our morning. Until next time.