Designer Spotlight: Ben Lloyd

Architect Ben Lloyd loves great stories just as much as he loves great design, and that intersection is at the heart of everything he does at Lloyd Hartley. His approach is all about creating spaces that feel personal, thoughtful, and beautifully crafted. 

In this interview, Ben speaks with us about his design philosophy, where he sees the industry heading, and the projects currently keeping him busy.

Can you share a brief introduction about yourself?

I’m Ben Lloyd from Lloyd Hartley Architects. As a director of a small residential-focused studio, I love hearing people’s stories. Taking these stories and creating refined architecture that expresses who they are, or who they aspire to be, is the essence of what we do at Lloyd Hartley.

How would you characterise your design style?

Collaborative. I would also like to think that it’s thoughtful, context-dependent, and sculpturally refined. We have never been particularly interested in pushing a singular “style” of architecture, but we do like our designs to be honest, not overly ostentatious, beautifully crafted, and with elements of fun and whimsy.

We want everyone involved in a building project to be able to showcase their skills and be proud of the final building. Good buildings should also make people stop and think.

As a practice, we are not focused on reinventing the wheel. Instead, we’re very good at making the most beautifully designed wheel for whatever application it’s needed for. 

How do you define innovation, and how does it manifest in your work?

Innovation, to me, is about improving efficiency. This can be in the products we specify to create more sustainable, healthier architecture, but equally, it’s about designing spaces efficiently and interestingly to bring enjoyment to the people using them.

We need to be adaptive to our clients’ briefs, but we can also encourage them to think about how they, and their loved ones, move about their built environment. Through quality design, we can make this experience so much more fulfilling.

How do you anticipate design trends evolving in the coming years?

We’re anticipating more flexible living. It’s not getting any cheaper to build or buy, and the model of designing around the single family unit with their own defined plot of land and detached home is not necessarily sustainable or achievable for everyone.

Don’t get me wrong, we love and are very good at designing big, expansive houses on coastal sites, but there is a real need for quality design at every scale of building and density. Designing to the lowest common denominator is not a good or sustainable model.

Ultimately, I think we will be creating sustainable architecture that is going to be inhabited over multiple generations by designing thoughtfully from the outset. This may come with a small additional up-front cost, but if it means that buildings stick around for decades longer, this is surely a worthwhile investment.

What do you envision for your future within the industry?

To keep designing beautiful spaces for good people. And hopefully to do more medium-scale development work, where we can use our skills to bring quality design to denser building types and encourage more people to see the long-term benefits of taking a little extra time at the outset to invest in good design.

I think we can do development really well if we spend a bit more time thinking about the architecture.

We’d also love to put our skills to work designing a boutique lodge or some Balinese villas.

Could you highlight any ongoing or upcoming projects you are particularly excited about?

We’ve got two really exciting projects under construction in the Coromandel—a fun, playful family bach at Cooks Beach and a big, finely tailored house in Whitianga. We also have a quirky renovation currently in for building consent in Ponsonby. And on top of that, I’m in the very early stages of designing my own home renovation, which is currently equal parts exciting and terrifying.