00003 / Meet the Directors
Brightman Clarke Architects are one of only a few architectural practices in the region whose directors' own surnames form the actual practice's brand. Yet, for the last six years, unless you had a meeting with Chris or Jonathan, then the chances are you would not be able to put a face to their names.
Call it modesty or even a little self-conscious - for whatever reason, until this week: Chris and Jonathan had not put any photos of themselves on this website; this was long overdue.
So striking whilst the iron was still hot - a couple of snapshots were taken during two recent site visits. Chris was at a major extension project in Ranmoor, Sheffield and Jonathan at Castle Hill, a new-build project nearing completion in Holmesfield.
Meet the Directors: Chris Brightman & Jonathan Clarke
After taking the photos, the biggest debate back in the studio: black & white or colour? We went colour (they feel a touch more authentic, a little less stylised). Are they perfect portraits? No, but both photos passed the approval of their respected other halves, so they must be reasonably OK.
Why have the photos online? At the heart of every good client-architect relationship is trust, and trust is earned. Building that trusting relationship from behind a faceless website is more challenging. We are not a sizeable corporate practice as our name may suggest. We are, in fact, purposefully small (currently a team of seven). So we are big enough to deliver your home, yet still small enough to offer you a bespoke personal design consultation.
A simple photo is just one small way we open ourselves up to you and start to build an authentic relationship; this 'behind-the-scenes' blog is another.
Chris Brightman & Jonathan Clarke - Founders & Directors of Brightman Clarke Architects
The photos may not seem like a big thing to many, but they can be a biggy to others who are a little more self-conscious. After all, most creative people are happiest making things; in our case, with a pencil or mouse in hand, sketching out ideas, and not being in front of a camera.
Finally, we don't want to compare Chris and Jonathan with two popular Saturday night entertainers. But we've now invented a new in-house rule: Chris must always be seen on the viewer's left from this day forth :-)