Exceptionalist 003: William Smalley
Share
William Smalley
Architect Extraordinaire
Artist
Everyday Exceptionalist
William lives true to our slogan of ‘Make everyday exceptional’ by transforming buildings into magnificent and memorable spaces of strong materiality.
What was your earliest childhood ambition?
When I was eight years old, I came downstairs to find a handsome man at our kitchen table. “This is our architect”, said my mother. I wanted to be him. I managed the architect bit.
Who was or still is your mentor?
This might sound cheesy, but my mentor is my intuition. I work hard to keep in touch with it.
What difference are you striving to make in the world? (Big or small, it all counts!)
I set my office up with the simple ambition to make beautiful spaces and places. It still stands.
Ambition or talent: which matters more to success?
We are all talented in some way, the trick is to find out what at and then be ambitious for that.
What's on the cards professionally and personally in the next 12 months?
I’ve come out of lockdown full of ambitions. Maybe it focusses the mind. And we’ve found clients during lockdown who seem to be feeling the same thing.
What secret ambitions do you still have?
My ambitions are unbound.
