Local flavour

Brian Oxspring, director of Oman's Oxspring Associates, speaks candidly about build quality, client agendas and the influence of 'starchitects'.

How did you develop an interest in architecture?

I was born in a small coal mining community in northern England. My interest in architecture developed at a very early age. I was fascinated by the pre-fabricated houses built in our community after World War II that replaced the destroyed houses.

I remember the fitted kitchens with built-in appliances that even included gas fired refrigerators. Moreover, the bathroom and separate W.C. at the time was very advanced.

There were double electrical sockets in all the right places, years before appliances were available to stick in them!

Years later the British Government introduced the first modern design guide in 1961 called Parker Morris Standard, which set a minimum criteria for good housing construction, design & facilities.

Those early prefabricated houses fulfilled the criteria adopted in the Parker Morris Report. I took these rather revolutionary standards as a normal requirement in a house.

I have always been drawn to politics and architecture and the idea of using my skills to create places that can influence someone's surrounding for the better. I've always found that very rewarding.

How did a British architect come to live and work in Oman?

My first stint in Oman came in 1979, briefly working for Huckle & Partners and Roy Lancaster Associates. I returned to London in 1983 after a two month trip, which was basically a world tour of architecture for me.

Then, while working for the American consultants, Architects International, I returned to Oman in 1990, before starting my own practice, Oxspring Associates, in 1996.

God willing, I hope the future will be good for Oman and I sincerely hope to continue living and working here.

Describe some of the challenges for smaller practices in the region.

In Oman, the municipality and local authorities are more conservative with the architecture they'll accept. That's the reality, but it is changing. There's a slow move toward contemporary architecture, which even a few years ago, wouldn't be accepted.

Invariably, clients and client representatives have their own vision, which is not necessarily the architect's vision. What drives clients are not always the same things that drive architects.

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