vPPR

Please, introduce yourself and your office…

We are vPPR Architects. Originally founded by Tatiana von Preussen, Catherine Pease and Jessica Reynolds, in 2009 in London, we have recently opened a new office in Hamburg. It’s an exciting transition for us to be working across the two countries – there’s so much to gain through cross-cultural exchange.

What are your experiences founding your own office and being self-employed?

Our office was started primarily on the basis of trust and friendship, and a great respect for what we could offer one another. We met aged 18 studying architecture at Cambridge University before heading off to different schools for our Masters: the AA, Princeton and Columbia  University. It was fun to reconcile these new influences, and soon after we won a competition in New York. Whilst the project itself never materialised, vPPR was born.

As three women directors, a valuable part of having our own office is the flexibility that it offers balancing work and personal life. As much as possible, we also offer this flexibility to our team too, which unintentionally is currently mostly women.

What difficulties did you face? What has been the biggest challenge that happened while starting your own project?

Probably the biggest test of any office is working out and constantly evolving the identity of the practice– who you are and what you stand for. We were lucky that our very first project “Otts Yard’ allowed the three of us to develop it as a studio manifesto, where art, landscape, geometry and public/ private gradient are central to our practice. We are fortunate to have clients who are also drawn to these principles, making for a strong collaboration and a conceptually clear end project.

Teaching has also been invaluable to developing fresh thinking and research around our practice. We have lead studios at the AA, GSAPP (Columbia University), Cardiff University and Hochschule Bremen.

Please describe the working culture and working conditions in your office?

Our office culture is collaborative, warm and experimental. Our core team of 12 is divided between London, Hamburg and Liverpool, working together on daily basis via slack and zoom. We also have many collaborators who we work with on a project by project basis – we believe that the cross-pollination of ideas and perspectives makes for a richer project.

We also belong to the London Practice Forum, a network of like-minded architects, swapping ideas, supporting each other and exchanging team members during peaks and troughs. Every city should have a network like it - smaller practices are stronger together!

What does your office look like at the moment?

The settings of the two offices are quite different and characteristic of their locations: in London we overlook Camden High Street whilst in Hamburg we overlook the Elbe. We love the contrast….

What needs to change in the field of architecture according to you?  

Our utopian vision is where art is part of everyday life for all people. Whether ‘high’ culture or ‘informal’ culture, we believe that it is the crossover of art and architecture has the power to articulate the inexpressible, create space for dreams, and situate the projects in their specific cultural, political and environmental contexts.

What essential actions do we need to take as architects now regarding a more sustainable future for everyone?

Whilst the impact of climate change is devastating, for our generation of architects it is an opportunity to radically rethink how we build and create a new architectural language in the process. There is so much knowledge and potential to learn from each other, yet these knowledge pools can still be unwieldy to access particularly across countries – it would be great to have a universal database of knowledge sharing.

We particularly enjoy the AJ Climate Champions podcast for opening up some alternative perspectives and international viewpoints:

What person/collective or project do we need to look into right now?

We constantly reference art, artists and curators for new ideas and different ways of thinking surrounding sustainability, process, materials and composition. Significant inspirations and collaborators have included (in no particular order): Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Michael Wang, Marina Abramovich, John Akomfrah, Tarini Malik, Laura Gannon, Alona Pardo, Patricia L. Boyd Charlotte Moore, Carollee Schneemann, Alina Szapocznikow, Elena Hill  ….

Also, Orbital by Samantha Harvey offers an astounding and beautiful alternative perspective of our precious planet Earth.

 

Projects

Venice Art Biennale John Akomfrah – 2024

vPPR Architects collaborated on the exhibition design for John Akomfrah’s British Council Commission for the British Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia 2024, “Listening All Night To The Rain,” curated by Tarini Malik.

The exhibition begins on the facade of the British Pavilion’s 19th century neoclassical building, with a large suspended three-screen film installation. The first of eight interlocking “Cantos” brings imagery and voices from the Global South to the forefront, honouring those who have been marginalised by the legacies of imperialism. Inside the Pavilion, film screens are embedded within sculptural installations, inspired by the structure and form of altarpieces from religious sites, evoking a sense of reverie to reflect on stories of migrant diasporas in Britain. Each gallery space layers together a specific colour field, influenced by the paintings of American artist Mark Rothko, in order to highlight the ways in which abstraction can represent the fundamental nature of human drama. The exhibition pushes ideas of acoustemology and sustainability through the use of coloured recycled acoustic felt.

Idlewild Mews

Idlewild Mews is an affordable-rent housing development for Croydon Council located within a complex infill site. Eight flats are contained within a multi-faceted building where forms weave in and out in response to the narrow site. The volumetric design ensures privacy for nearby residents while encouraging a sense of community within the development. It’s characterful shape and materiality creates a unique identity for the homes whilst also referencing the surrounding built environment.

A chequerboard pattern of different colours of brick adorn the exterior of the building, further breaking down the perceived overall building mass. The bricks were inspired by the tonal palette of neighbouring properties and ensure that the contemporary architecture fits comfortably into its surroundings. A diamond pattern running along the accessway breaks down its length and a change in colour outside the front doors demarcates a small shared space. Featuring benches opposite the main building, the simple hard landscape encourages interaction between residents and is a much loved play area for the young children who live on the property.

Image Credits: © Antalya von Preussen (Portraits) / © Taran Wilkhu (Venice Biennale) / © Ruth Ward (Idlewild Mews)
Publication Date: 09/2025
Website: vppr.co.uk
Instagram: @vppr_architects