Sir John Sorrell CBE, 63, is chairman of the London Design Festival, which he devised and founded in 2003. During a 40-year career, he co-founded Newell & Sorrell, one of Europe’s biggest design businesses, with his wife, Frances. He chaired the UK Design council from 1994 to 2002, is chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) and co-chair of The Sorrell Foundation, set up to inspire creativity in young people. He has three adult children and lives in London with his wife, Frances.
How important is it to you to live in a well-designed house?
Very important. I can’t operate unless I have a calm and organised environment. I think beauty enhances your life. Good design creates a better quality of living and can dramatically affect your mood.
Do you live in a period or contemporary house?
Both – simultaneously. We bought our house in north London in 1998. It was built in 1958 to replace a Victorian property while retaining the original lower ground floor. It was modern-looking, with a flat roof, although a pitched roof and conservatory had been added on. Frances and I asked six young architects for their views on remodelling it. Five said “knock it down”. The sixth – Eldridge Smerin – suggested recycling it because they liked the interior spaces, as we did. The 1950s house now sits within glass and steel extensions added to the front, back and both sides. So three architectural periods are now embraced in one building.
How involved were you in the project?
I’m used to working with designers because of my business. I’ve found that if there’s a great relationship between a designer and client, you can get great results. But projects can go wrong if clients aren’t clear about the brief. Our relationship with Eldridge Smerin was easy. Frances and I had strong opinions – not architectural opinions but about the way we wanted to live. Nick Eldridge and Piers Smerin were good listeners and clever at interpreting what they heard. For example, they took the staircase out of the property’s centre and repositioned it at the front to create a smooth circulation flow.
What other ideas did they have?
They installed full-height sliding doors to close off rooms or open up the interior spaces. It has made the house very flexible and it’s great for big Christmas parties. I love the details of their work – the bookcases and wardrobes. They built a fireplace with a sliding fireguard and gave the television shelf a sliding door. The interior looks minimal but there’s lots hidden away. Design can be frustrating and upsetting when it’s wrong and life-enhancing when it’s right.
What about the ambience?
It’s wonderful in summer, when you can see all the colours properly in very bright light. In winter, the house feels very cosy because you can pull shutters across the glazing.
Is there a garden?
Frances is a very good gardener and worked with Dan Pearson on the landscaping. It was her suggestion to plant 30 birch trees at the front so the house could be glimpsed through the branches. Both the back and front gardens can be seen from inside through floor-to-ceiling glass panels.
Which is your favourite room?
My top-floor studio. It’s where I work when I’m at home. It’s a calm space with masses of natural light and a fantastic view across London. Its design helps me to be very organised, which is essential for wearing three hats – Cabe, the London Design Festival and the Sorrell Foundation.
Do you live with any classic furniture designs or contemporary design icons?
Yes. My favourite pieces are an Eames lounge chair designed in 1956 – the year the house was built – and Thomas Heatherwick’s Plank, a contemporary table-cum-stool that unfolds and can be propped against a wall. I use the Nomos glass table, designed by Norman Foster, as my desk. And I love the dramatic design of Zaha Hadid’s rug in the living room.
Which do you prefer: handcrafted or high-tech designs?
Both. I have a high regard for people who make things with their hands. Equally, extraordinary things can be achieved with new techniques like rapid prototyping.
What is your favourite architectural period?
Today. As much as I love Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, it’s important to be positive about what’s going on now. Some contemporary work, whether for housing, offices or schools, is very good indeed. Zaha Hadid’s Maggie’s Centre in Scotland is a personal favourite because I like small projects. I also like David Chipperfield’s studio for Antony Gormley in King’s Cross [London] and the new Westminster Academy designed by Allford, Hall, Monaghan, Morris.
Is art and sculpture an important element in your home surroundings?
Very important. Most of it is quite personal. I’ve collected work by my tutors from Hornsey College of Art, where I studied art and design in the 1960s. I have work by Faith Jacques, who taught me illustration, and a Bridget Riley silk screen print. It’s a question of living with things that make you feel good.
Are there any facilities you couldn’t live without?
A comfortable bathroom and an open fire.
Do you have a dream home?
Frances and I are very interested in the idea of “the simple house”. It would be very eco-friendly, without much technology. It would be in London – the heart of the contemporary design scene.
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My favourite things: football and sculpture
The [late] artist Terry Frost was a lovely man and a friend. He was keen on red and black and I framed a Christmas card from him because it’s so cheerful and reminds me of him.
I love Breon O’Casey’s bronze sculpture “Bird Bath”. It’s sheer joy in an abstract form, with a great sense of humour.
I’m a great Arsenal [football club] supporter – I’ve been going to matches for 56 years – and used to sit with my father in the west stand. So Emma Hayworth’s painting of the view from the west stand of old Highbury stadium has huge sentimental meaning.
The Boyle family makes wonderful casts of surface landscapes. My cast of St Pancras Road has extra resonance: Frances and I had our first studio near there.
When I was seven, my father gave me a book called Animal Drawing by John Skeaping. It was what got me drawing and into what became my career. A few years ago, I found an original drawing of an antelope by Skeaping in a London gallery. It was special to find it after loving his work all my life.
