I always wanted to be an architect. I’ve always been interesting in drawing, designing and tinkering.

When I was young, I would reflect on certain buildings, like the art gallery in Brisbane for example. I used to think about some much more than others. During high school I put two and two together as to why I had such an interest in certain buildings. I realised that if I was to make a career in something I was passion about, architecture would be the field of choice. It allows you to play with ideas but has the scope and skills base to get paid for your efforts as well. After high school I went straight to the University of Tasmania, and then eventually moved to Melbourne. I won an international design competition, which allowed me to travel between finishing university and moving to Melbourne.

I was very lucky to keep landing on my feet when I began in architecture. I first worked in a big commercial firm. I had a bad experience over the year, but it was a necessary lesson to learn. I took some time off, and then won another competition, which allowed me to travel further around Europe with my three month Eurail pass. I found this out after starting work at Six Degrees Architects, but I still stayed there for a year because I loved it there. I also worked for Richard Rogers architects in England. When I was over there, the great Australian dollar to Pound exchange rate meant I had all these pounds – I got off plane and had money to burn. Practically after getting off the plane, I was asked if I was a good designer. I instantly was asked to work on a project.

In hindsight, 27 was far too young to start a practice, but that was my choice at the time.

I have been determined to keep my practice small and manageable. My business partner Mark has taken a huge chunk of the load, which has helped me to no end. I used to have a office in the city, but have since moved to a shop front, and live upstairs the office. It all works for me – I am able to focus on what I love and not worry about overheads and letting stress take over my life and affect my work – which is easier said than done sometimes.

Growing up in Tassie, you look at Melbourne and realise it’s such a fertile area for design. Upon moving over, I was taken aback at how egalitarian everyone was. Sure there is a healthy competition and envy can arise, but the beautiful thing was that you could call someone up the road and ask them for advice. There is a constant conversation in the field. Because of that there is no one style that overrides the architectural scene in Melbourne. We are all active in this world of activity. We have such a growing community in Melbourne – each with their own cultural and designing needs and influences. There is much more fun to be had in Melbourne, and it’s such a privilege to be part of that growth and evolution.

I think the projects I enjoy the most are the ones with the most constraints.

By default, you have to be innovative and think outside the box. I may go through 12 awful designs to get to one great one. But the clients I am lucky enough to have understand that and trust my judgment. In tiny sites you have to come up with unique ideas. Take for example the Hill House project. People are surprised when they realise and understand the pragmatics of the situation. Instead of green space being an afterthought, i had the idea of making the green space the aggressor – and making it vertical. This only came about because I had the privilege of a client that trusts us.

I like the fact that people now seek out Andrew Maynard Architects for their particular projects. One point of change from the past is that clients and the regular punter are educated on what an architect can offer. We don’t have to sell things to people. The traditional idea of the elitist architect is problematic – we have generally hidden behind semantics in the past. But that has changed a lot. If we’re going to spend someone’s money – we have to communicate how we are going to improve their lives. They primarily seek us out for a reason, and know what they’re getting themselves into pre-design.

With heritage projects, it’s important that you don’t get carried away as a designer.

Working with heritage buildings and areas there is already a story in place. It’s a privilege to become part of that history. I worked for Richard Allom – a leading heritage architect and author of the Burra Charter, which is primarily concerned with the philosophy, terminology, methodology and techniques of cultural heritage conservation. I, like many other Victorian architects, believe that when it comes to heritage buildings, it’s about conservation against conservatism. If you fall into that trap of conservatism then you kill the chances of the project becoming relevant to new generations.

When we work on heritage projects we work vigorously and diligently to bring the older building back to life. You can use that mandate to have a bit of fun – it’s not a museum piece. However, the value adding aspect of a heritage project can be daunting. It’s your chance to create a visual memory or form of remembrance. Some instances call for hiding the heritage to fulfil a clients brief, but I’m not a fan of destroying it. In the future – people will be able to peel of the layers – then add something to it later.

In terms of my dream project, I sincerely hope to design a library and a museum before I die. I would like to create something that is representative of the community I’m working in. Fortunately, there are still libraries with books, so my dream is alive and well. I used to say that my dream project would be some sort of space station… actually that still is my dream project now I think of it. I would love to make a space station. The whole idea of space habitation is enthralling. I’ve imagined a structure on Mars that’s a huge sphere that relies on kinetic energy to function. The design would be challenging to say the least, but if it’s not a challenge, then there’s no real fun to be had.

The key to architecture is great clients and keeping things simple – which is also a great lesson in life.

The way I deal with work is the way I deal with life. Keeping things modest means you can have a life outside of work, and in turn makes your work better. I even wrote an essay about work and life balance – it was the most read article on archdaily.com. I ensure that I keep taking my own advice – mostly because I went too hard at it early on and learnt the hard way the importance of keeping it simple. One big lesson I’ve learnt over my professional years is that you have to communicate the things you find important. My clients see my articles or work and engage with the quirky ideas. Our ideals are front and centre, so clients know what to expect.

My business works on a lot of houses, and they all have something that relates to the client. They are generally socially and environmentally aware. I am fairly critical of the way we deal with sustainability as a country, though. I find that people often have a huge house and pretend that it is sustainable – simply by adding solar panels for example. But this is not sustainable living. Australians have the biggest houses in the world – we have an aspirational culture. In European cities, there is more of a focus on public usage places. Take for example swimming pools: in Europe there will be one large one, but here everyone has their own personal swimming pool. Also the low density of housing in Australia makes us susceptible to wanting to expand beyond what is needed. That’s where I feel true sustainability in Australia is faltering. But I’m happy to lead by example through utilising spaces that feature fully-integrated sustainability measures.

For more information: www.maynardarchitects.com