Meet Rob Pollard, RIBA architect

We’re delighted to feature an interview with Rob Pollard, one of the founders and RIBA chartered architect at RX Architects in Rye, East Sussex. Rob takes time out of his busy schedule to share his opinion on design trends, the growing importance of green credentials in the construction industry and what it takes to design award winning coastal homes.
RX architects was founded in 2016 by directors Rob Pollard and Derek Rankin who decided that having worked on projects in London and across the South East it was time to work closer to home in Rye, at town boasting a rich history and near to beautiful rural landscape and the sea. We ask Rob how this is working out for him and his growing architecture practice.
Country or coast, what’s been the most challenging residential project you’ve worked on?
Challenging in terms of planning – is probably Roundhouse, which is a house permitted under Paragraph 84, a planning policy which only allows new houses in the countryside under exceptional circumstances which must meet a very high architectural level. The scheme is partly built into the ground, and results in a curved building wrapping around the ruins of a former windmill, with views out over the High Weald AONB. Challenging in terms of construction was possibly an apartment development in Rye, which had extremely difficult site access, and was constrained between existing buildings either side, and the medieval town walls to the rear, with the main road to the front. A pre-fabricated timber frame solution was used requiring a road closure to get the majority of the super structure up within days.
‘Pink house’ Seabreeze on Camber Sands has been featured on Grand Designs and achieved RIBA South East House of the Year 2022, and you were also recognised in the Sussex Heritage Trust awards and British Homes awards in the same year. How important are these awards to your business and why?
Awards we find are generally important to us in terms of industry recognition from fellow architects and designers. Its also an incredibly gratifying way to end a project and an enjoyable experience to be able to take clients to awards events so they too can get some credit for the hard work, trust and cost of a project being worth it all and recognised for its quality.
From coastal homes and wineries, to a curved timber framed house with a wild flower roof. How do design challenges vary from London and the suburbs?
Typically in London, every square metre counts as the price of land and availability is so low, hence the design challenge is often how to squeeze as much out of a very constrained site as possible to maximise it. The difference outside of London we find is you have a much greater ability to make slightly grander design gestures, if that’s simply generous hallways to display art, internal courtyards to bring in landscaping, or double/triple height spaces to add drama top light and height.
How quickly is sustainability and environmental performance growing in importance in construction and what are the implications when it comes to the design of residential, hospitality and commercial buildings?
I think it's been a vital consideration in construction and architecture for well over a decade now, however it has been very slow to become more mainstream and focused, particularly on commercial projects where often cost comes first. I think the big shift in this has come in the last few years, where energy prices have drastically risen, so its now not only the right thing to do socially, it’s the right thing to do economically too now, as most renewable technologies will pay back in significantly shorter times and result in much lower long term running costs. When it comes to residential design, we find these considerations are very high on our clients' minds, and have been for many years – most people looking to build their dream home are less focused on purely a financial decision, and are often more driven about design, sustainability, quality and a longer term vision
Are there any stand out trends you’ve noticed in architectural design, and do these vary internationally in your opinion?
I think this partly feeds on from the above – and architecture in the UK is having to slightly evolve as our climate changes. The change in Part L, and introduction of Part O have created quite a change, and certainly needs to now be considered earlier in design to help avoid buildings over heating, and taking a fabric first approach. We are developing designs with much more substantial over hangs, solar shading ,integrated shutters or concealed blinds, to help prevent overheating. A lot of our designs use flat roofs, so we can get larger solar arrays and better U values, so the design trends often follow a more European style at times conceptually at least, in following the principles of how to design to keep a building warm in winter but cool in summer.
When it comes to securing planning permissions what are the main hurdles to overcome for design and build projects?
Planning is a very tricky stage of any project, regardless of scale and can be quite unpredictable at times too. An element of personal opinion can of course come into it, as design is subjective, so you may get a very positive reaction from one particular planning officer over another based on their own views on design, hence this can at times be difficult to predict and navigate through. The planning system has changed quite a lot recently, with significant changes to Class Q, Permitted Development and the introduction of Biodiversity Net Gain, which impacts many sites. Having experience is key to understand the planning constraints and risks of any project, and advising client of these as early as possible into any project. Its now more important than ever to have a good team of reliable consultants to hand too, as most projects we work on regardless of scale will require a planning consultant, ecologist, drainage engineer, Landscape assessment, Highways consultant, Heritage consultant etc.
Do design trends or customer preferences influence your choice of materials for projects?
Generally we are always reading magazines, books and online architectural publications as we are interested to see new projects, new design ideas and we get inspired by this. There are so many materials to consider, or design choices, but I find there is often a preferred design rational quite early on in most projects, which comes from a combination of us understanding a particular site and its context, and understanding a client to combine a solution we think works well.
Where or how do you source the perfect products for luxury interiors?
We like to work with local craftspeople and suppliers where we can, and we have a great array of talented and knowledgeable specialists nearby. If that’s joinery and cabinet makers, or steel workers who build complex cantilevered stair cases and balustrades. So more often than not we will develop a design approach that we feel suits a space and a clients needs, then develop this in detail with those specialist suppliers.
How has the availability of local products such as those of Focus SB manufactured in-house in nearby St Leonards on Sea enhanced design and functionality possibilities for future projects?
It’s a great help, being able to meet local suppliers, and actually see products being produced is very helpful both in terms of our understanding of the products, and to see the quality. This makes discussions with clients much easier, as we have a better knowledge of specific details. Its also great that we can offer the ability for clients to meet suppliers like Focus SB locally to view the products for themselves which is an exciting part of the process for them.
Was it useful for your team to be able to visit the Focus SB factory last November? How important is it for you to get to know your suppliers?
Yes it's very important – when you are recommending or advising design and products to clients, to have confidence in where things are coming from and how they are made. To have a team locally who can help with specifying, providing samples, schedules, and answering clients queries is invaluable at times. The range on offer is wide too, which means we can easily integrate an overall design by matching finishes with ironmongery, joinery etc.
Last but not least, do you get a chance to switch off - what’s your favourite pastime?
Having just finished building my own house, and having a new born baby recently on top of work at the practice, spare time is quite a limited and precious thing – so as well as trying to split time between family and the practice, I love to both watch and play football. I still play for a local team every other weekend, and we have a 5 a side team with some of the guys in the studio, where we play every Thursday against another local developer/contractor which is always good fun! There is also an upcoming Architects & Consultants 5-a side tournament to raise money for charity, with teams from Kent and Sussex which I am sure will be competitive!
Visit RX Architects website.