Our chat with Richard Peters, Tobias Partners
We’ve had the pleasure of working with Tobias Partners on 10 plus projects over the years. Richard Peters as Principal in Charge has worked on most of these projects.
Here’s what he had to say when we caught up.
• Please give a brief insight into your career?
I am a design principal at Tobias Partners Architects and over the past 14 years have had the opportunity to work with clients who really support the process of making great architecture. I currently have five houses on the go in Sydney, form Leichhardt to Lavender Bay, so I am spending a lot of time onsite which is one of my favourite parts of a project. Apart from the design role I have at TPA, I have designed my own home that was the adaptive re-use of a 1890s farriers workshop. It is one of the smallest projects I have worked on but it has attracted a lot of attention and accolades, which I was pretty thrilled about.
• Why have you chosen to design Vitrocsa into some of your projects?
What do you mean by some of my projects… I choose Vitrocsa every time! I was first introduced while working on our Northern Beaches House that overlooks Whale Beach. A great friend (and great architect) Christina Markham alerted me to Vitrocsa as she was trialing them on one of her own projects at the time. We were well into the final stages of design documentation but I managed to quickly show the client who was so impressed with the way Vitrocsa could refine the glazing even further, and connect them with their incredible ocean views, that they agreed to change the entire window package at the last minute. I remember our builder was a bit aghast… “They’re coming from where? Switzerland!” Fortunately we made it work timing-wise and I have continued to use Vitrocsa (without too much convincing) on every project since.
• How does the Vitrocsa range change the way you design projects?
I wouldn’t say it has changed the way we design our projects but I would say that we can now achieve a more seamless and refined integration of glazing that just like all the elements of a project is so important in achieving the quality we strive for.
• What has been your experience with working with Vitrocsa?
Like their products, seamless and timing-wise much better too as their sections are now extruded locally which reduces lead times.
• What would you say to an architect considering designing Vitrocsa systems into their projects?
I am always happy to talk about our experience working with Vitrocsa with other architects. Tony Chenchow of Chenchow Little came onsite to have a look at a project not long ago and I think that is the best way to really understand for yourself how beautiful this system is.
• What makes Vitrocsa different to other glazing systems?
The design is better than anything else I have worked with.
Visit our gallery to see some of the 10 projects by Tobias Partners featuring Vitrocsa products:
