Meet the trendsetting design duos mixing business and pleasure

What is it like to work with the person closest to you, especially if that work is as creative as doing up a house?  Carolyn Asome talks to three architectural duos to find out.

Zoe Chan & Merlin Eayrs - Chan&Eayrs

Life and work for Zoe Chan, 33, and Merlin Eayrs, 36, are inextricably linked. For this husband-and-wife team – also parents to two-year-old Max – the concept of ‘home’ is the centre of their world, both personally and professionally. "For us, home is a feeling of love, safety and comfort; a place you long for, a nest," says Chan. "It’s so much more than four walls and a roof over your head. It’s the most emotional and physical connection you can have to a place."  

Although both are trained architects, their practice defies the traditional role of an architect. For a start they don’t have clients, but work for themselves, taking one project at a time, each of which they treat like a work of art. "It’s a way of choreographing our lives as well as a project," explains Eayrs.

The couple oversee every aspect of the process, from finding the site to choosing the cups in the kitchen cupboard. They then sell each property, fully formed, through the website The Modern House. Previous projects include a former shoe factory in Shoreditch and the conversion of a silk weaver’s house in Spitalfields, while sites in St Ives and Lisbon have been mooted next.

Exploring a more sustainable way of living is high on their agenda, and building near water and nature is important to them, due to its ‘effect on the soul’. They both acknowledge that their close working dynamic can be tough: "Sharing our work and personal lives can be very intense, especially as we both have really strong personalities," says Chan.

To avoid conflict, they have formed a partnership based on their individual strengths: Chan is the dreamer, who comes up with ideas, finds the sites and designs and develops them, while Eayrs deals with craftsmen, engineers and the physical details on site.

"If we have personal issues, then obviously that is going to feed into our productivity and communication," says Chan, "so if we don’t address that, then everything shuts down."

"The marriage always comes first," adds Eayrs. "For us, there is no 'home' without it." chanandeayrs.com

Emma Rayner & Katie Earl - No. 12

"We're often told that our work is 'quite masculine-looking' for two young ladies," says interior architect Katie Earl, 32, rolling her eyes. Earl is one half of No 12, which she founded three years ago with her friend and colleague Emma Rayner, 30.

Their most recent project is interior spaces for the Gasholders residential development in London’s King’s Cross - a one-of-a-kind structure with three conjoined steel frames that originally housed gargantuan gas cylinders – and demonstrates a contemporary aesthetic with a hard edge.

The pair met almost 10 years ago while working at the interior-design and architecture practice 1508.Earl had studied interior architecture, while Rayner specialised in furniture design, a combination that has proved a winning formula for another high-profile project: London’s first women-only private members’ club, The All Bright.

Does working in London bring a specific perspective to their architecture? "I wouldn’t say we are typically London in style," says Earl. "Our work can be quite traditional and we’re also influenced by many things, including fashion brands, graphic design and music. For example we saw some beautiful appliqué at a Burberry show that became the starting point for surface detail on some timber panelling for a project. We’re always looking out for things that are fun and interesting."

"We also encourage clients to be bold with materials," adds Rayner. The spaces they have designed for Gasholders combine a luxe opulence with a certain starkness. Lighting by the industrial designer Michael Anastassiades is a favourite, as is pared-back furniture by Faye Toogood.

Their closeness as friends is a strength for their business. "We’re both quite calm; there’s no ego, and no space for any drama from us or our team," says Rayner. "We have a similar style and are able to second-guess what the other might say, which makes our design aesthetic very strong, because it’s never diluted." no12studio.com

Peter & Philip Joseph - P. Joseph

For twin brothers Peter and Philip Joseph, 39, projects that offer an opportunity to affect the architecture as well as the interiors of a property are the most appealing.

They set up their Dalston architecture and design practice three years ago, and have already had several impressive commissions: their portfolio includes the latest flagship store of Matchesfashion.com in Carlos Place, W1; Erdem’s first shop in Mount Street; and the Omorovicza Spa in Hungary, as well as a handful of high-profile residential properties.

Philip initially worked for the designer Ilse Crawford after graduating as an architect, and her holistic approach has no doubt informed the way he and Peter like to work.

"We start with the building and the context, then we try to work out every last detail," he says. "We also want to understand the historic fabric of a building and make sure our contemporary interventions are harmonious with what exists already." 

For the Matches store, they sourced a type of glazed terracotta used as a decorative surface for walls from the British company Darwen Terracotta: the same company that was responsible for the original terracotta work in the area back in the 1860s. Peter, a trained product designer, is at the business helm.

Growing up as one of six children, all of whom work as architects or designers (their mother is also an architect), must have made for design-heavy conversations around the breakfast table. "I don’t think we are competitive," says Peter with a laugh, "but I think you can’t help but care what your siblings think."

They believe that the ‘twinthing’ has definitely helped their business. "There is a huge sense of trust; I know that his decisions will benefit both of us," says Philip. Although while they get on for the most part, arguments sometimes arise from the pull between the creative and the commercial.

"I am completely uncompromising," says Philip, explaining his nth trip to northern Italy to find exactly the right type of flooring, "even if we potentially lose out a bit financially".

Peter, meanwhile, is focused on efficiency, and argues that architecture can be both a labour of love and a profitable business – only half-joking that those trips to Italy have got to stop. p-joseph.com

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