Helmed by Katerina Dionysopoulou and Billy Mavropoulos, Bureau de Change is a dynamic, London-based architectural practice that works on both small and large scale projects, from private residences, to exhibition set-ups, to furniture design. Driven by a desire to innovate, and underpinned by a hands-on approach involving prototyping and testing, the practice’s work is characterised by sculptural sophistication and geometric playfulness. From the undulating texture of a building façade, to the faceted shape of a ceiling, to the repetitive pattern of a woven surface, their work often features prismatic forms and polygonal shapes that form rhythmic compositions. The duo has also developed a unique talent in using humble, natural materials in innovative ways by seamlessly combining traditional crafting techniques with ground-breaking technologies. Take for example ‘The Interlock’, a new build five-storey mixed-use development in London whose façade is a sculptural composition of bespoke marl clay bricks designed with the help of 3D modelling but fabricated in hand-crafted steel moulds, or the duo’s first furniture line for UK furniture brand Efasma for which they have enhanced the durability of organic cotton rope with the use of nanotechnology. Yatzer recently caught up with Katerina and Billy to chat about their burgeoning practice, their creative relationship and the importance of rhythm. (Answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.)

在katerina dionysooulou和billy mavropoulos的指导下，“变革局”是一种充满活力的伦敦建筑实践，它既适用于小型和大型项目，也包括私人住宅、展览设施和家具设计。在一种创新的欲望的驱使下，并以一种涉及原型和测试的亲自操作方法为基础，该实践的特点是雕塑的复杂和几何的嬉戏。从建筑物正面起伏的纹理，到天花板的多面形状，再到编织表面的重复图案，它们的作品往往以棱柱形和多边形形状为特征，形成有节奏的构图。二人还开发了独特的人才，在使用谦逊的，自然的材料，以创新的方式，通过无缝结合传统的工艺技术和突破性的技术。举个例子，“联锁”(The Interlock)是伦敦一家新建的五层混合用途的开发项目，其外观是由定制的泥质粘土砖组成，借助三维造型设计，但用手工制作的钢模制造，或者二人公司为英国家具品牌efarma设计的第一条家具生产线，它们利用纳米技术提高了有机棉绳的耐用性。最近，Yatzer和Katerina和比利聊起了他们蓬勃发展的练习，他们之间的创造性关系以及节奏的重要性。(为清晰起见，对答案进行了浓缩和编辑。)

Katerina Dionysopoulou and Billy Mavropoulos. Photo by Ben Blossom.

KaterinaDionyspoulou和BillyMavropoulosBenBlossom的照片

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

Tell us a bit about the origins of your practice. How did your partnership come about? Billy: We met many years ago when we both worked for Norman Foster. After both leaving, we somehow found ourselves in Shanghai for the World Expo 2010 at the same time – Kat was responsible for the British Pavilion by Heatherwick Studio and I was involved in the London Pavilion - and that’s when we started discussing and toying with the idea of setting up a studio. Katerina: A couple of years later we were given a project in New York for the Brooklyn Academy of Music and a residential project in London and we set up the studio off the back of those two projects. We’ve been up and running now for 6 years but it really feels like yesterday! How would you describe your architectural style? Is there an underlying aesthetic or conceptual framework that you adhere to or do you embark on each project with a clean slate? B: I would say we don’t have a particular style. We tend to respond to every project and client differently – always trying to approach the brief we are given with a fresh eye and a sense of discovery. That’s why all of our projects are different – we don’t tend to repeat ideas, we like to challenge what’s expected and do something different that’s unique for every project. K: In lieu of a style, what we adopt is a process that is common throughout our projects regardless of scale. We do quite extensive research into each project, whether it is a house, an office or a piece of furniture, etc. We explore the heritage, craft, materials and particularities of each and twist or exploit them to uncover something unexpected and innovative along the way. Making and craft processes play big roles in all of our projects.

告诉我们一些关于你的实践的起源。你们的合作是怎么来的？比利：我们是多年前认识的，当时我们都为诺曼·福斯特工作。两人离开后，我们不知怎么发现自己同时来到了上海参加2010年世博会-凯特负责Heatherwick Studio的英国馆，我也参与了伦敦展馆-就在那时，我们开始讨论和玩建立一个工作室的想法。卡特琳娜：几年后，我们得到了布鲁克林音乐学院在纽约的一个项目，以及伦敦的一个住宅项目，我们在这两个项目的背后建立了一个工作室。我们已经跑了6年了，但感觉就像昨天一样！你如何描述你的建筑风格？是否有一个基本的美学或概念框架，你坚持或你开始每一个项目干净的板子？我想说我们没有特别的款式。我们倾向于对每个项目和客户做出不同的反应-总是试图用新的眼光和一种发现的感觉来接近我们所收到的简报。这就是为什么我们所有的项目都是不同的-我们不倾向于重复想法，我们喜欢挑战人们的期望，做一些不同的事情，这对于每个项目来说都是独一无二的。K：我们采用的不是一种风格，而是一个在我们的项目中普遍存在的过程，而不管规模如何。我们对每一个项目都做了相当广泛的研究，无论是房子、办公室还是家具等等。我们探索每一个项目的遗产、工艺、材料和特性，并利用它们来发现一些意想不到的和创新的东西。制作和工艺过程在我们所有的项目中都扮演着重要的角色。

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, Long House. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，朗豪斯。作者声明：by J.

How different are you as designers? B: Weirdly enough we’re quite similar. When I left Fosters I went to the Royal College of Art where I understood the strength in collaborating with the other design disciplines. Architects tend to be introverts and I wanted to break that mould. That informed the work I did that followed in retail design, product design, curating and branding. I always worked with other designers, artists, media and marketing people etc. within art and retail establishments like the Tate or Selfridges. K: Similarly for me after Fosters I went to work for Thomas Heatherwick and the projects I was involved in were far from stereotypical architecture. I delivered, among others, the aforementioned UK Pavilion, the cauldron for the London Olympics 2012 and the distillery for Bombay Sapphire in the UK. The studio culture there had a focus on making and human experience which resonated with me. So, somehow even though Billy and I took slightly different paths we ended up with a design approach that’s very much aligned.

作为设计师，你有多不同？奇怪的是，我们很相似。当我离开Fosters时，我去皇家艺术学院，在那里我了解与其他设计学科合作的力量。建筑师往往是内向的，我想打破这个模具。这告诉了我在零售设计、产品设计、策划和品牌上所做的工作。我经常与其他设计师、艺术家、媒体和营销人员等一起工作。在艺术和零售机构，如Tate或Selfridges。K：对我来说，在Fosters之后，我也去为ThomasHeatherwick工作，我所参与的项目远不像是典型的建筑。除其他外，我还交付了上述英国馆、2012年伦敦奥运会的火锅和英国孟买蓝宝石的酒厂。那里的工作室文化专注于与我共鸣的制作和人类体验。所以，即使比利和我走了略有不同的路，我们最终还是采用了一种非常一致的设计方法。

Bureau de Change, Step House. Photo by Ben Blossom.

更衣室，步子屋。本·布鲁森的照片。

Bureau de Change, Step House. Photo by Ben Blossom.

更衣室，步子屋。本·布鲁森的照片。

Bureau de Change, Step House. Photo by Ben Blossom.

更衣室，步子屋。本·布鲁森的照片。

Bureau de Change, Step House. Photo by Ben Blossom.

更衣室，步子屋。本·布鲁森的照片。

Bureau de Change, Step House. Photo by Ben Blossom.

更衣室，步子屋。本·布鲁森的照片。

Bureau de Change, Step House. Photo by Ben Blossom.

更衣室，步子屋。本·布鲁森的照片。

Bureau de Change, Step House. Photo by Ben Blossom.

更衣室，步子屋。本·布鲁森的照片。

Do you have distinct roles in your creative relationship? How do your resolve creative differences that may arise during the design process? B: We always work on the design together and with our team in the office. There is a lot of creative freedom and we assess the designs collectively, test them, shape them and refine them. There are times where there are differences and those are actually the most fun! K: When we don’t agree on something we just know it’s not right so we talk and sketch through it, we look at options and challenge our original approach. It’s through this process that we end up with better more consolidated results that feel right. Apart from architectural projects your practice has also been involved in exhibition and furniture design. In what ways does the design process differ in each case? B: The process is very similar when we design exhibitions or furniture. We always focus on the ‘user’, the ‘occupier’, the ‘visitor’ in our architectural designs so when we are designing an exhibition for example, the focus is the same. It’s about the changing spatial experience, the atmosphere, the senses, what you see, touch, and ultimately feel. K: The intricacy of how materials come together; how corners and junctions are resolved and how all that affects the way people use our spaces is something that filters down from larger architectural projects into the way we design furniture. It’s not just about the pieces themselves but also about the relationship between them and the space they create around them. There’s always a sense of discovery, of the unexpected.

你在你的创造性关系中有不同的角色吗？如何解决设计过程中可能出现的创造性差异？我们总是在设计上一起工作，在办公室里和我们的团队一起工作。有很多创造性的自由，我们共同评估设计，测试他们，塑造他们和完善他们。有些时候有不同的地方，而这些其实是最有趣的！当我们在某些事情上意见不一致时，我们只是知道它是不对的，所以我们通过它来讨论和勾画，我们会考虑各种选择，并挑战我们最初的方法。正是在这个过程中，我们得到了更好、更综合的结果，感觉是对的。除了建筑项目，您的实践也涉及展览和家具设计。在每种情况下，设计过程有哪些不同之处？当我们设计展览或家具时，这个过程是非常相似的。在我们的建筑设计中，我们总是专注于‘用户’，‘占用者’，‘访问者’，所以当我们设计一个展览时，重点是一样的。它是关于不断变化的空间体验，气氛，感官，你看到的，触摸的，最终的感觉。K：复杂的材料是如何组合在一起的；如何解决拐角和连接点，以及如何影响人们使用我们的空间的方式，都是从更大的建筑项目中过滤到我们设计家具的方式。这不仅是关于碎片本身，也是关于它们之间的关系，以及它们周围创造的空间。总有一种发现的感觉，一种意想不到的感觉。

Bureau de change for Efasma. Photo by Eliot Postma.

埃法斯马的变更局。图片来源于Eliot Postma。

Bureau de change for Efasma. Photo by Eliot Postma.

埃法斯马的变更局。图片来源于Eliot Postma。

Bureau de change for Efasma. Photo by Eliot Postma.

埃法斯马的变更局。图片来源于Eliot Postma。

Bureau de change for Efasma. Photo by Eliot Postma.

埃法斯马的变更局。图片来源于Eliot Postma。

Bureau de change for Efasma. Photo by Eliot Postma.

埃法斯马的变更局。图片来源于Eliot Postma。

Your work is characterized by a geometric language of prismatic forms, polygonal shapes and volumetric playfulness. How did this language evolve and how does it relate to you as designers? B: A lot of that is a direct response to the challenges we have been set. Starting with a diagram and turning it into three dimensions has in many cases been resolved in geometrical forms. But we also try to bring a lot of tension and motion into our designs and that’s when surfaces start to fold, volumes start to twist and corners rotate. K: We always design with three dimensionality in mind. Ceilings are as important as walls and floors to us, façades don’t need to be flat, room shapes and sizes need to vary and materials no matter how rigid can bend and curve. Rhythm seems to be a key feature of your designs in both large and small scale projects, be that the undulating texture of a façade, the faceted shape of a ceiling or the repetitive patterns of woven surfaces. How important is rhythm in your work and why? B: It’s key for us. Architecture shouldn’t be static. It should move as you move around it. It should have a sense of tension where different elements or materials meet. It should be the result of motion, of suppression, collision, expansion, it should give the sense that it will change, that it will become something else. K: It’s important for us to introduce elements that have a sense of motion, as it surprises people, makes them look twice, and makes them challenge their preconceptions, which we love doing!

你的作品的特点是一种几何学语言的棱镜形式，多角形形状和容量游戏。这门语言是如何演变的，它与你作为设计师的关系如何？B：很多这都是对我们所面临的挑战的直接回应。从一个图表开始，并将它转化为三维，在许多情况下，都是以几何形式解决的。但是我们也尝试在我们的设计中引入很多的张力和运动，那就是当表面开始折叠，体积开始扭曲，角旋转。我们设计时总是考虑到三维空间。对于我们来说，天花板就像墙壁和地板一样重要，立面不需要平坦，房间的形状和大小需要变化，无论多么坚硬的材料都可以弯曲和弯曲。节奏似乎是你的设计的一个关键特征，无论是大小项目，无论是起伏的纹理的外观，面形的天花板，或重复的图案编织表面。节奏在你的工作中有多重要？为什么？这是我们的钥匙。建筑不应该是静态的。它应该在你绕着它移动的时候移动。当不同的元素或材料相遇时，它应该有一种紧张感。它应该是运动的结果，是抑制、碰撞、膨胀的结果，它应该给人一种感觉，它会改变，它会变成别的东西。对我们来说很重要的是引入有运动感的元素，因为它让人惊讶，让他们看两次，并使他们挑战他们的先入为主的观念，这是我们喜欢做的！

Bureau de Change, Folds house. Photo © Bureau de Change architects.

BureaudeChange,FoldingHouse。照片（照片）BureaudeChangeArchitect。

Bureau de Change, Folds house. Photo © Bureau de Change architects.

BureaudeChange,FoldingHouse。照片（照片）BureaudeChangeArchitect。

Bureau de Change, Folds house. Photo © Bureau de Change architects.

BureaudeChange,FoldingHouse。照片（照片）BureaudeChangeArchitect。

Bureau de Change, Folds house. Photo © Bureau de Change architects.

BureaudeChange,FoldingHouse。照片（照片）BureaudeChangeArchitect。

Bureau de Change, Folds house. Photo © Bureau de Change architects.

BureaudeChange,FoldingHouse。照片（照片）BureaudeChangeArchitect。

In your work you masterfully combine traditional craftsmanship with innovative technologies, often using humble or natural materials in novel ways. How hard is it to harmoniously marry such disparate techniques? How important is prototyping? B: There’s a lot to be said about how things used to be made. How important hand-crafting is and the involvement of the specialist craftsperson involved. The quality it brings to the end result, the knowledge and expertise that goes into it. And at the same time technology allows you to do things that weren’t possible before, that the human hand can’t achieve. So, we always try to mix both as that gives you a more informed and unique product in the end. K: We research traditional techniques and we learn from them. We meet with craftsmen, visit factories, workshops and learn about the different processes whether they are hand or machine driven. We don’t see digital fabrication techniques solely as the finished end product, but part of the process that allows for the further exploitation of traditional techniques. Digital informs the physical and vice versa.

在你的作品中，你巧妙地将传统工艺与创新技术结合起来，经常以新颖的方式使用简陋或天然的材料。把这些不同的技术和谐地结合起来有多难呢？原型制作有多重要？关于过去做东西的方法，有很多话要说。手工制作有多重要，涉及到的专家手工艺人员的参与。它所带来的质量，最终的结果，知识和专门知识，进入它。同时，科技允许你做一些以前不可能的事情，这是人类的手无法实现的。因此，我们总是尝试混合，因为这给你一个更知情和独特的产品在最后。我们研究传统技术，并从中学习。我们会见了工匠，参观工厂，车间，了解不同的过程，无论是手工还是机器驱动。我们并不认为数字制造技术仅仅是最终产品，而是允许进一步开发传统技术的过程的一部分。数字告知物理，反之亦然。

Bureau de Change, The Interlock (a collection of 44 misshapen and seemingly un-stackable clay blocks developed for the buildings facade). Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

局的变化，联锁(收集了44个畸形和似乎无法堆叠的粘土砌块发展为建筑物的正面)。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, The Interlock. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

交换局，联锁。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, The Interlock. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

交换局，联锁。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, The Interlock. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

交换局，联锁。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, The Interlock. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

交换局，联锁。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, The Interlock. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

交换局，联锁。作者声明：by J.

What kind of projects are you working on right now? B: We’re currently finishing a large commercial project in central London where amongst everything else we have designed an art deco inspired three-dimensional bronze core that spans four floors. We’re also working on a few houses, one of them looks like a museum display case while the other looks like a Victorian conservatory but clad in compressed woven stainless-steel mesh. We’re also designing a new boat for Regent’s canal. K: We’re designing London’s new fashion district in Hackney – encompassing eleven buildings with studios for fashion designers, a member’s area, bar, café, catwalk space and other facilities. We’re on site with a new-build house in South London for which we’re casting parts of a 1930’s façade in concrete – which we’re very excited about- we’re currently doing mock-ups of the concrete on site. And we’re about to embark on the concept of two new projects, one in Athens and one in New York.

你现在在做什么样的项目？B：我们目前正在伦敦市中心完成一个大型商业项目，在这里，我们设计了一个艺术装饰灵感的三维铜芯，横跨四层。我们还在几栋房子里工作，其中一个看起来像一个博物馆展示箱，而另一个看起来像维多利亚式的暖房，但在压缩编织的不锈钢网里面。我们也为摄政运河设计了一条新的船。K：我们在Hackney设计了伦敦新的时尚区，包括11座建筑，有时装设计师、一个成员的区域、酒吧、咖啡馆、猫道空间和其他设施。我们在伦敦南部建立了一座新建造的房子，在那里我们“重新铸造1930年代的混凝土中的一些部分”，我们对此感到非常兴奋--我们目前正在对现场的混凝土进行模拟。我们即将开始两个新项目的概念，一个在雅典，一个在纽约。

Bureau de Change, The Interlock. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

交换局，联锁。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, The Interlock. Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

交换局，联锁。作者声明：by J.

Bureau de Change, The Interlock (interior views of the café on the ground floor). Photo by Gilbert McCarragher.

改变局，联锁(一楼咖啡厅内景)。作者声明：by J.

keywords:Architecture 

关键词：建筑