Creativity, Clarity, Confidence – How TINTO Approaches Every Project
Every project starts in the same place – with an idea that doesn’t exist yet. A building nobody’s built. A space that doesn’t work quite as well as it could. The distance between that idea and a finished building people use well is where the difficulty in architecture lives, and it’s the reason everything we do comes back to these three values:
- Creativity
- Clarity
- Confidence
They sum up what working with us actually feels like, from the first conversation right through to completion.
Creativity begins with listening
Creativity is sometimes mistaken for a big reveal or an unusual idea. But it’s neither of those things.
Creativity is about understanding a problem or need, then finding the best solution for the people involved – every residential, commercial, retail, leisure or cultural building is ultimately about people.
So, before we put pen to paper or start to sketch anything, we first need to have a conversation to understand you and what it is you want and need from your space.
For us, creativity begins quietly, without ego or flourish. It begins with in-depth conversations followed by sketches and ideas that are still finding their shape.
It’s not unusual for clients to arrive with a solution already in mind, say an extension, a fit-out or a new use for a tired building, only to end up pursuing something different. This isn’t because we’ve persuaded them that we know better or have a design concept we’re desperate to build, but because we took the time to understand their needs and what issue they were seeking to resolve, before suggesting solutions they hadn’t considered.
We ask what will make the space work better for the people who’ll be using it – a family, a workforce, or a customer walking through the door for the first time. What does the building already do well, and what could do with changing?
Only once we properly understand what a client needs do we start suggesting solutions and proposing designs.
The Petrofac Innovation Zone in Aberdeen is a great example. The starting point was a request to create a more functional, unconventional and welcoming area away from the regular desk environment.
The answer wasn’t simply a new office fit-out, but a series of inter-connected spaces where conversation and ideas can flow freely.
The Union Kirk on Union Street was the opposite kind of creative challenge. We were asked to turn the upper floor into a flexible venue for weddings, dinners and corporate events. The building already had everything it needed – stained glass, vaulted ceilings, original cornicing – so we designed around those features rather than competing with them, adding booth seating, a bridal room on the mezzanine and the client's branding worked into the windows.
A good idea on its own isn’t enough, however. It has to survive its contact with the real world – budgets, timelines, planning and contractors. That’s where clarity comes in.
Clarity gives good ideas a chance to succeed
This is one of the areas where we’re very different from many other architectural practices. We believe that for a good idea to work in the real world, it needs clarity. This means a clear realistic budget, clear achievable timelines and a clear, practical route to delivery. A good idea shouldn’t be at risk from last-minute compromises or avoidable surprises – so we talk openly about costs, timings and what will be involved, making decisions based on facts, not guesswork.
A good example of how clarity benefits a project can be seen in the Hammerfield Avenue project in Aberdeen. The owners were transforming a West End house they’d inherited, but which didn’t work for them, into their forever home.
During the process, structural challenges emerged, as is often the case with older properties. By sharing developments as they happened, engaging with the contractor early and working closely with the wider team, we found solutions that kept the project moving, respected the budget and maintained the bigger picture of the new home being created.
The finished home is a reminder that clarity isn’t the opposite of creativity, it’s what helps creativity survive the journey.
Read more about the journey to this beautiful forever home in our article Turning a House into a Home.
Once a project is clear, it needs a good team to see it through.
Confidence is earned, not claimed
Confidence isn’t bravado and it isn’t a slogan. It comes from having done this before, across residential, commercial, industrial and heritage projects, and knowing what it takes to see a project through.
We want every client to know that we can design well and that we’ll deliver what we said we would. We have a shorthand for that internally: DWWSWWD – Do What We Say We Will Do. It’s a bit long for an acronym but it’s also a handy palindrome. Most importantly, it’s the promise that matters most once the drawings are finished and the real work starts.
Our team spans architecture, interiors and project management, with experience across family homes, workplaces, industrial facilities and heritage buildings. That range means we’ve usually encountered a similar version of whatever problem a client brings us and know how to see it through without guesswork.
For many of our clients, that means working with us from the first sketch right through to completion. Others might only need help at a particular stage. Either way, we want you to feel informed, involved and able to trust the process. Our project management team helps keep programmes, paperwork and on-site activity moving, while you remain close to all the decisions that shape your project.
You can see that in practice on our oilfield infrastructure project for Halliburton’s South Atlantic production campaign – a liquid mud plant, chemical storage facility and explosives compound. Regulated, technical work, on a site where a mistake in the drawings is going to be more than just a wee problem.
Doing things differently, with creativity, clarity and confidence
Our 3 Cs are what make our buildings and interiors different, and what make our relationships with clients so rewarding. We’re on the same page and we stay on it until the project is finished. Every project mentioned here started exactly where yours will: as an idea that didn’t exist yet.
If you’ve an idea, an opportunity or a project – even if it’s still at the notebook-scribbles stage, we’d like to hear it. Our first consultation is always free of charge and free from pressure.
Get in touch via our contact us page or call us on +44 (0)1224 821 670.
