EB 24- Stanton Williams architecture

En Blanco nº 24 is dedicated to the work of the London-based architectural practice Stanton Williams, internationally recognised for its careful attention to materiality, context and spatial experience.

The issue opens with the essay “Tectonics of Proximity”, which introduces the conceptual framework of the practice and situates its architecture within the renewed interest in the tectonic and phenomenological dimensions of architectural design. In contrast to architecture driven by image or formal gesture, Stanton Williams proposes a practice rooted in construction, material presence and the physical experience of space.

An extensive interview with the directors of the practice —Alan Stanton, Paul Williams, Patrick Richard and Gavin Henderson— provides insight into their architectural thinking. The conversation addresses fundamental aspects of their work, including the importance of context, the influence of sculpture on their design processes, and their interest in the embodied experience of architecture.

The issue also presents a selection of six representative projects from their recent work, including The Sainsbury Laboratory in Cambridge, the Hackney Marshes Centre in London, the Central Saint Martins campus, the Britten-Pears Archive, the Cambridge Judge Business School, and the Musée d’Arts de Nantes. In these projects, their distinctive use of exposed concrete and other materials reveals a tectonic approach that articulates spatial sequences and reinforces architectural experience.

More than a simple compilation of projects, En Blanco 24 offers a critical reflection on the architecture of Stanton Williams and on an approach to design that places construction, materiality and the human body at the centre of architectural experience.