In Profile:
Maison IOM Architects

Name: Rory Donnelly

Company: Maison IOM Architects

Position within company: Creative Director

Website: www.maisoniom.com

Tell us a little about your background in design (education, experience, etc)  

I spent a lot of my childhood living abroad between France, Germany, England and Ireland through my fathers work. After studying architecture at both Liverpool + Brighton Universities, I working in London for a bespoke design practice, mainly on the restoration and extension of elegant townhouses in the capital’s most exclusive addresses. After moving north to Manchester, a period was spent working for the high end listed building developer, The PJ Livesey Group, re-designing numerous abandoned asylums and country mansions, turning them into bespoke luxurious private apartments. I then joined, (the now closed), Fallows Gowen Partnership, where I was responsible for the design of over 15 high-end residential dwellings, ranging from Farmhouses, Townhouses, Grade II listed Vicarages, Country Mansions to substantial Replacement Dwellings. Over the past 25 years rory I have turned my hand now to over 110 individual projects.

How would you describe your personal design style?

Designing a home is an intimate process with each client unique, therefore each project has to be designed, developed and tailored in a unique way to fulfil that client’s requirements, reflecting their lifestyle and personality in a truly bespoke manner.

‘Every home we create is individual and unique’.

Where does your design inspiration come from?

I would say everything we encounter has leaves some kind of mark in our subconscious and it is the recall of those experiences / encounters that ultimately shape the way we then design.

In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense?

With any project undertaken, the execution from the first pen stroke or mouse movement, has to reassure clients that our many years of experience we have in delivering residences at this level of exceptional standard, combined with our sharp eye for detail and understanding of space and form on the human psyche, will ensure the highest standards be sustained from conception to completion, resulting in delivering a home of the highest standard. As society progresses, advances and evolves, a more holistic understanding of how the spaces we design can affect our everyday lives will become more prevalent to our overall wellbeing.

Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in 2023 and beyond.

Space, scale, proportion, sustainability and functionality.

If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to design schemes, what would it be?

Start, make the mark, trust the process. There is no magic button to press and out comes a finalised design. There is always a journey and discovery to be taken as designers to reach an end goal.

How important are The International Design & Architecture Awards?

We have long admired those designers whom have entered the awards and are delighted to be part of this years entries.

What projects are you currently working on?

We generally tend to have around 20+ projects at any one time in the studio, all at various stages of the process, from feasibility through to on site. Variety is the key for us, for example we are on with two replacement dwellings and one extension and refurbishment residence in one of the most prestigious roads in the North West, alongside an apartment scheme in Falmouth, a conservation sensitive apartment scheme in south Manchester and other various other projects for clients that prefer to remain off radar.

What was your favourite project to work on and why?

We had been working for several years on a 55,000sqft new country house in Cheshire that was extremely unique, however due to the clients personal circumstances, that project is no longer being taken forward. 

What was your most challenging project to work on and why?

I once told a client that I would probably design around 14 versions of the house before we got to the correct one. After 4 versions I was confident we had the right design. 10 more designs later he admitted he had continued to claim dissatisfaction just to see if what I said was true. We settled back on version 4 then.

Which products/services could you not live without when designing?

Eyes, brain, pen, mouse, in that order.

What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?

To keep striving with what we have always done, delivering exceptional homes all over the UK and beyond.

Final thoughts; tell us a little more about yourself and your daily inspirations:

Your most treasured possession?

Health.  

Your favourite holiday destination?   

There are so many places in the world still yet to visit, it would be unfair to assign one of those visited so far as the favourite.

Your favourite hotel, restaurant & bar?         

Hotel. Aldo Rossi Hotel II Palazzo, Fukuoka, Japan.

Restaurant. De Silveren Spiegel, Amsterdam. Venue of the first date with soon to be mrs donnelly. The entire room was on a slope and we both ate the unedible moss.

Bar. Zap Club, Brighton. Not really a bar at all, however my spiritual home during the 1990’s.

Your favourite book, film & song?     

Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard. Too many movies to define just one. Ask Spotify, varies continually.

Your favourite food and drink?          

Tasting Menus, with wine fights of course.

Your favourite way to spend an afternoon?

When free, walking outdoors.

If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?

A poor artist.