Isabel Allen and I spent a couple of hours photographing Jerry Tate for our first Reinventing Practice portrait. Jerry, being Jerry, gave us his lunch hour—and got us lunch. Not in a grand, showy way, just in the way of a man who sees hungry people and thinks, “Well, that won’t do.” He respected his colleagues lunch time too, which is why they’re not in the photo. That tells you something, doesn’t it?
So, what did I learn?
Jerry believes in designing things so they don’t ruin everything. That’s it. That’s the philosophy. People need good places to live, work, and be human. The planet, meanwhile, needs a break. He understands how we can do both.
He believes buildings aren’t islands. They’re part of a neighbourhood, an ecosystem, a planet. He believes people like trees, fresh air, and daylight .Take a look at Tate + Co’s portfolio, this isn’t marketing rhetoric, no greenwashing, this is exactly how these architects build.
He believes architecture should make life better. Not just functional, but actually pleasant. You know, the way chairs are better when they’re comfortable, buildings are better when they don’t make people miserable.
He believes in listening to the people who will actually use the thing you’re designing. And translating the listening into action. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? And yet.
He believes in using less carbon and more common sense. If your project is choking the planet, it’s a bad project. Again, entirely reasonable. And he has a thousand methods for getting you out of that mess.
And he believes in working with great people, because big ideas don’t happen in a vacuum. I think great people probably get a kick out of working with him.
Oh, and one more thing: On making it beautiful. Not in a way that trends well on Instagram, but in a way that makes people love it, care for it, and want to keep it standing long after we’re gone, he believes if you start from understanding people, it will be beautiful. And who could argue with that.
So what did I learn when making the first portrait for Architecture Today Reinventing Practice? If you need a manifesto for not ruining everything, Tate & Co have got a pretty good one.
