AUGUST 2019 SODA STUDIO
COMPUTERARTS.CREATIVEBLOQ.COM- MAKE EVERYONE AWARE THAT
THEY’RE IMPORTANT
The key to forging a collaborative culture
lies in making it clear everyone’s input is
valuable, says Laura Sanjuan. “We really
do believe good ideas can come from
anyone or anywhere. And we make sure
that everybody, whether you’re freelance or
permanent, understands that ethos.” - CREATE A FLAT HIERARCHY
A flat hierarchy makes people more willing
to share ideas, says Katie Stamp. “Being
relatively small, we’ve been able to avoid
the traditional agency hierarchy. It’s very
open here. Everybody can talk to everybody,
and that encourages the free flow of ideas.” - KEEP EVERYONE IN THE LOOP
Stamp also sees book-ending the week
with regular catch-ups as important in
promoting a collaborative atmosphere. “At
SODA, we make sure we have meetings
every Monday morning where we talk
about the projects everyone is working on,
and then a round-up Friday session with
a few beers,” she says. “It makes everyone
feel involved and included, and helps to
generate a good cross-pollination of ideas.” - ENCOURAGE BRAINSTORMING
In some companies, individuals are
expected to take sole responsibility for
their work, but Sanjuan feels that’s self-
defeating: “One thing I love about SODA is
that people often take the initiative to email
round and say: ‘Guys, I have this task to do,
can we just get together and brainstorm it?’
I get a lot of delight from that.” - FOSTER A STUDIO-WIDE CULTURE
It’s important to promote collaboration not
only within teams, but across the studio,
and that’s something SODA excels at, says
architectural assistant Giulia Moretti.
“Whether it’s an informal pass-by at our
desks, a pin-up or a chat over beers, a
continuous dialogue with strong feedback
loops is encouraged. Getting input from
others is an important part of any design
process, and there’s a lot of experience and
good ideas in the office that gets shared.”
SODA’s architects and designers
reveal how they collaborate
successfully on their projects5 WAYS TO WORK
TOGETHER IN-HOUSE
BENJAMIN WILKES
Associate
Benjamin Wilkes joined SODA having qualified from University of
Westminster, University of Greenwich and gained professional
experience at Panter Hudspith Architects. At SODA Wilkes has worked
on a variety of projects across scales and disciplines, ranging from
furniture and interior design to the complex Walker’s Court project.KATIE STAMP
Head of graphic design
Katie Stamp graduated from Lincoln School of Art & Design where she
won membership to the International Society of Typographic Design.
At SODA she injects both projects and studio life with a strong brand
perspective, which the studio is now rolling out as a separate discipline.