Gunnar Groves-Raines is an architect and tastemaker in Scotland. Here, he talks cities, design and beautiful objects
I’m not one for taking a traditional approach. I graduated with a degree in architecture in 2006, and a week later a friend and I had set up a studio in Glasgow – I didn’t even qualify until 2009. My parents are architects with their own practice specialising in the conservation and restoration of historic buildings. I wanted to create something that offered an alternative approach and extension to that, so we did a lot of ambitious, avant-garde installations and exhibitions. Today, GRAS is an award-winning multidisciplinary architecture and design practice that brings conservation and future-focused design expertise together. We work on projects locally and internationally.
Leith feels like the ideal intersection between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Custom Lane, where GRAS is based, is an Edinburgh City Council Common Good property, which means it has to be put towards long-term, sustainable community use. It was a perfect fit for us, and we’ve created a space where people working in architecture, design and craft can come together, share resources, be inspired by and support each other’s work. We have studios, retail areas, a café, a gallery and event spaces. There are so many creative people in Leith, and there really wasn’t anywhere for them to congregate before. Custom Lane is that place. Edinburgh is very protective and quite conservative about what happens architecturally, but that’s less the case in Leith.
When we’re designing buildings, we’re also thinking about the materials, furniture and objects that will fill them. That has led us to people like Alistair Byars, our brilliant product design engineer. We held a solo exhibition of his work when he was a new graduate, which turned into a year’s paid internship, the result of which was The Gathering Hand, an ongoing project at GRAS which applies our ethos to furniture and objects. It’s a lovely, functional collection of furniture, stoneware and glassware. It’s difficult for people in those kinds of industries to find opportunities in Scotland. We’re trying to change that.
I start the day by listening to Nils Frahm. His music gets me into the right headspace. For local talent, though, you can’t beat Young Fathers. Williams & Johnson in Leith is my go-to for great coffee; for drinks it’s Bramble, a subterranean gem on Queen Street; and Stockbridge is where I do my shopping – Treen and Kestin form the backbone of my wardrobe. For a weekend getaway, Wildland’s Lundies House in Tongue is the final word in restrained decadence.
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