AT chats to…Mark Kelly from PLP Architecture about the plus side of economic uncertainty, materials research and growing mycelium in the boardroom.

PLP Architecture has submitted plans for 30 Minories, a wellness-led office development in the City of London. Occupants will have access to a range of amenities, extensive terracing and planting. Within the development, the Victorian Writers House will be retained as a community benefit, which will have floors dedicated to affordable workspace for local groups.

What brings you to BCO Conference?
It’s an opportunity to meet people out of the pressure cooker of the London environment but also a chance to hear different people speak about subjects I wouldn’t normally hear about. It was great hearing somebody from Legal and General’s asset management team talking about economics because it does have a profound impact on what we do as architects. We need to understand those who work in our industry – not just clients and consultants but those who operate and occupy the buildings we design.

Did it make you worry about the current economic climate?
I would say that periods of economic uncertainty are great for architecture. It makes people more willing to explore new ideas. For those of us in the creative industries it allows us to explore opportunities and maybe different types of spaces and to focus not just on making new buildings but how to add to and adapt existing structures. It gives you time to explore different types of materials. It’s a great time to explore and innovate. We’ve been growing mycelium, which is a kind of fungus, in our conference room. It’s a lightweight, sustainable, fireproof material that is inherently quite strong. If you touch mycelium it feels a bit like touching a raw mushroom. You have to be a little bit careful because it’s not great to breathe in the spores.

So when will be seeing mycelium used as a construction material?
We’ve used it to build installations at the London Design Biennale and Clerkenwell Design week and it’s being used in clothing as a leather replacement but we’re not at the stage where it has the necessary certifications to be used in mainstream construction.

How important is innovation and research to you as a practice?
We have a research arm called PLP Labs. It’s been in existence for a few years now and we are starting to have conversations with academic and research institutions. We worked with Cambridge on CLT when nobody was really talking about CLT. We proposed a CLT tower to sit on the Barbican site. We have carried out various research projects. Not just on materials, but on issues like the impact of the pandemic on the workplace environment and the impact of incorporating biophilia in the workplace. What’s quite nice is that the research translates into built projects. So our work on biophilia has informed our designs for 30 Minories at Aldgate in the City of London, that incorporates a vertical urban greening scheme. There are terraces at every level. It’s part of the wider discussion about bringing the workforce back into the office and the benefits of amenities and outdoor space.

Mark Kelly is a partner at PLP Architecture.