The best ways to explore London are by walking and cycling. I could stroll through the city for hours, along its little streets and byways, marvelling at the assortment of interesting architecture. The UK capital is a collection of villages waiting to be discovered, each with its own individual character. I particularly enjoy the many specialist shops and interesting markets across the city, and I like to catch a glimpse through the windows of people’s homes: the facades that line our streets can be almost identical, yet each interior is unique and tells its own story. As a designer, much of my work is about breathing new life into old buildings or giving character to new ones, and my creative process depends very much on my surroundings and taking in my city.
Architecture
I walk to work every day along Exhibition Road in South Kensington, with the Victoria and Albert Museum on one side and the Natural History Museum on the other. These two buildings give much pleasure to so many people both architecturally and because of their incredible exhibits and educational lectures. The Natural History Museum, opposite our design studio, is Alfred Waterhouse’s Grade I-listed terracotta-clad masterpiece. It opened in 1881 and is renowned for inspiring building design that celebrates the natural world. Creatures carved into the walls seem both mythical and real. My children used to play in the gardens when they were at school nearby. They accepted it as part of their childhood and I hope will be influenced by it always.
Kemp’s design studio is opposite London’s Natural History Museum
Shutterstock/Coward Lion
A statue of Alfred the Great in Southwark, south London, which was co-restored last year by the Heritage of London Trust (HOLT), of which Kemp is a trustee
HOLT