After moving on from a successful partnership with his previous employer and partner, Stefan Antoni Architects, GREGWRIGHT architects (GWA) was founded in 1995 by its sole member at the time, Greg Wright.
A new vision- Greg Wright Architects
The decision to break ties and form a new practice was formed out of a need/desire to explore a new and separate vision for the making of buildings and to discover a different way in the delivery of both as a service and product that adhered to the principles and values held as important by Greg Wright.
These principles still underpin the ethos of the practice and include:
The business of architecture should be inspired by the delivery of contemporary buildings founded on the values of integrity, honesty, and a commitment to offer positively to the built environment.
The belief in and commitment to ones ideas is the single most valuable currency we can invest in.
Work is driven by a desire to make buildings that reveal & revel in excellence of thought and execution – this soon became the credo of the newly formed GWA. The practise continues to develop projects around these core values. A holistic approach is adopted for all projects and this often includes the design of interiors and bespoke one-off items for their clients.
At the helm
In 2001 Greg Scott joined GWA and very quickly became a pivotal part of the success of the practise. This was acknowledged in his appointment as a director and shareholder in GWA in 2003, and has been instrumental in the growth of GWA and the extensive portfolio of work completed to date. At the time the practice was fluctuating around the 6-8 employee mark, but in the years subsequent we have grown the firm to as many as 25 people at any point in time.
Our management structure has expanded to include for the recent addition of Clinton Bush as a third director.
Clinton, who successfully ran his own practise (LIFE Architecture & Interiors) for a number of years and has completed a number of impressive and diverse projects, brings to the practise his experience as well as a client base that includes the PIC, Shell, I&J Fisheries, Amway amongst others. His addition to the management team practise brings invaluable expertise in the contractual management segment of our service structure as a result of his seat on the Institute of SA Architects on the practise committee. His presence provides invaluable insight into developments taking place in this regard and he has taken on a core role in the management of the contractual components of both the GWA and GRAFT Construction Management companies.
Expanding our business
We are currently three very well related companies; GregWright architects (GWA), Site Interiors and GRAFT | Construction Management (G|CM). These are run by the three directors Greg Wright, Greg Scott, and Clinton Bus who, with a combined 50yrs of experience, ensure a sustainable and shared vision of companies that provide work for each other within a framework of a shared vision.
Each director has specific skills, strengths and expertise to which they can play: the initiation and design of projects rests largely with Greg Wright and Greg Scott who together will test and promote new ideas with each project, whilst Clinton Bush manages and coordinates the contractual aspects to GWA as well as the contractual environment in which G|CM operates on a day-to-day basis.
Breaking the mould
As a rule we will “break the mould” of each of our projects to ensure that our clients receive careful attention to the specifics of their briefs and design intentions and we are driven each time to question and search for meaningful and relevant solutions to each of our projects. Each project is seen as an opportunity to explore, discover, question and seek relevance in our work and this has not changed since the founding of the practise in 1995.
The evolution from one dedicated architectural company into a quiver of three intimately related companies is the testament to this ongoing quest to be able to deliver a quality service and product right through from the pre-conceptual phases and culminating in a high quality, perfectly furnished and completed building/interior project.
