Cecil Balmond is hailed as one of the greatest structural engineers and one of the most provocative and daring designers.
His work as a designer, engineer and artist ranges from bridges and sculptures to the Victoria & Albert Museum extension. It includes some of the world’s most famous structures, including the Centre Pompidou-Metz and the CCTV Tower in Beijing. Recently, he’s worked with Anish Kapoor on projects including an installation in Tate Modern and the Arcelor Mittal Orbit for the 2012 Olympics.
In all he does, he aims to reposition the engineer as a creative force. And emphasise, in his own words, that form has narrative and materials have spirit. His work defies conventional ideas about space and stability, and sometimes seems to defy gravity itself.
He’s also an award-winning author and teaches architecture and structural engineering extensively in the UK and USA.
Who or what inspired you to become a designer?
I realised that in the early making of buildings that the designer, engineer, artist, architect were all the same thing. I felt that to completely understand how to design, one had to know how to build, and that the science of building is just as important as the art of building. Later on, I found that writing was yet another extension of understanding the ideas behind the making of the buildings, and I felt compelled to share these ideas with a wider public.
What are you working on right now?
The Scottish landmark sculpture to mark the border between Scotland and England. It’s called the Star of Caledonia. I’m also working on a very big $400m project in Asia, an interesting mixed development of retail, residential, conference, hotel and offices on a 24-acre site by the sea in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Which of your projects are you most proud of?
The large CCTV project in Beijing and, at the other end of the scale, the small pavilion project I did in 2002 for the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park. They both create new forms and subscribe to an active sense of geometry in the making of buildings.
Who or what inspires you?
People who inspire me are those whose work always seems fresh - the music of Bach, the ideas of Newton, the plays of Shakespeare. They are a constant source of inspiration and recharge me in an emotional, creative sense.
If I weren't a designer I'd be a...
Writer.
What's your advice to aspiring young designers?
Never give up, but read outside your discipline for inspiration from others. Trust your instincts and be brave.
Images from left: Element Exhibition (Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Japan 2010), Serpentine Pavilion (with Toyo Ito, Serpentine Gallery, London 2002), Pedro E Ines Bridge (Coimbra, Portugal, 2006).