Born and raised in Spain, Benni Allan founded EBBA to unite his passion for architecture, design and making. A graduate from the Bartlett School of Architecture, Benni was named as One to Watch by the British Design Council in 2015 and won RIBA Journal’s Rising Stars Award in 2019. Since establishing his practice in 2016, Benni has overseen a diverse mix of projects, from considered dwellings to cultural spaces and progressive retail for brands and institutions including Adidas, Erdem, Royal Academy, Tate Modern, TFL and V&A to name but a few. Alongside his architectural output, Benni spearheads EBBA Objects, a home for the studio’s experimental furniture and product design.

Benni is a Design Lecturer at the University of Greenwich and acts as external critic at the Bartlett School of Architecture, the Royal College of Arts and the Cass. Benni is also the co-founder of AORA,  an acclaimed virtual gallery designed to promote mental serenity and wellbeing, and Atavola, a new concept designed bringing friends of friends together across creative disciplines and locations through food.

1. Could you tell us how your journey into interior design started?

Since I can remember I have been interested in the process of design. I was brought up as a very curious and creative child with a lot of mixed interests, often bringing them together. I was obsessed with football and I remember sewing miniature kits for some of my favourite toys, which was clearly my initial draw into fashion. Similarly, I was always trying to adapt and upgrade all of the objects I owned, from motorbikes through to pieces of furniture. I wasn’t really aware that this was design but looking back I was very keen on being able to design the world around me. 

2. Do you think there has been a defining moment in your career?

It still feels early to be able to pinpoint a defining moment, as I believe I still have so much to learn and experience. I have been lucky to have had a solid foundation of architectural education and training. The time I spent in China, doing part of my initial training, would likely be a fairly important moment even if it was prior to fully qualifying. Connected to this and potentially one of the highlights so far would be the major exhibition design I designed and developed for an arts organisation in Hong Kong. At the time, about 1 year into having a practice, I was commissioned for a large show on fashion photography. As I was still so early into starting the studio, we hadn’t built much large-scale work, and certainly hadn’t had the chance to complete a building. Therefore we took the opportunity to create a “building” inside of the gallery. The design process was incredibly rewarding and the result was something almost sculptural that had the presence of something permanent.

3. What do you think is the key to a successful interior design? And in your business in general?

For me a successful practice is about the positive energy and the people that you have around you. I think it is very uncommon for a practice to be a single individual’s output and I feel that we should celebrate the creation process more. Architecture and design are disciplines that last a lifetime and I’m certainly of the opinion that within practice we will have multiple lives. I am a firm believer that a successful practice is one that can be self-sustaining and produce work that is meaningful to those who experience them.

4. How would you define your signature style? Do you have “a mantra” that encapsulates your taste in design?

We create quietly progressive buildings, places, objects and furniture with a special sensitivity to how they are experienced… EBBA designs are always imbued with meaning and feeling, crafted to have a lasting emotional impact on the users.

I am very process driven but equally enjoy starting quite conceptually. Often we start by looking for an image or a theme that can help to carry the project through. It is usually something that is connected to the site or the culture where the building is situated. The image then helps to start a conversation with the team and the client, as well as the users. Sketches, models and rough drawings help to develop those ideas. Very quickly we like to test materials and textures as a way to bring in another layer to the project.

6.  Could you tell us about one of the favorite projects that you worked on?

The project that comes to mind is one of our first building schemes that we completed as part of a self build. It was the restoration of a school building in Spain, which happens to be the classroom I used as a child. The project was completed for less than £1000 and shows the potential of design to make a real impact. The design involved the recladding of the building using recycled bitumen panels that we transformed into different tones of red – to pick up on the use of terracotta in the region. It was so successful that the children at the school thought they had been given an entirely new building.

7. What would be your advice to beginner interior designers?

Be curious and try out as many new things as possible. I didn’t quite understand the suggestion to look outside of architecture and design for inspiration, but as I’ve developed as a designer I’ve realised that there is so much out there to use to create ideas. More and more I find myself seeing beauty in the simplest things.

8. What was one of the hardest learned lessons in your journey?

Balancing when to grow and when to scale.

9. What are your 3 favorite pieces from the Philia Collection?

10. What was the best advice you have received in your path?

Do everything as if it’s your most important project. The results will show and people will notice.

11.  Are there any books/podcasts you would like to recommend to our readers?

I was recently asked to be on a podcast called Office Talk. It is a really interesting series on how architects market themselves. Instead of it being all about the glam of practice, it delves into how studios began and their view on business.

12. If you could pick one interior design tip that is important to you, what would it be?

Combine materials that help to create subtle yet juxtaposed relationships. This can be both in form or materiality, helping to create compositions and best of all do the work of resolving junctions between different elements.

13. Finally, what are your upcoming projects? Anything you’d like to share or add to the interview?

We are working on the restoration of a modernist house in London originally designed by Georgie Wolton of Team 4. It is a sensitive restoration where we are also extending to create an elegant first floor extension made entirely in timber. Another project I am excited about is the design of a new bespoke speaker system alongside Friendly Pressure that takes on the language of our Low Collection.

Thank you so much Benni, for this great chat!