St George Berkeley Group – Interview
This week I sat down with 23 year old Ishmael Anthony Thaddeus Hamilton. A Building Surveyor who is part of the award winning St George Berkeley Group, a housebuilding company. They have built numerous spaces throughout London raging from Chelsea Creek to Sovereign Court and also Dickens Yard, amongst other developments. I decided to interview Mr Hamilton to get an insight of what goes into making and building the ideal space and about his company and what he does (its about time I find out as he is my older brother). I walk into Ishmael’s house as this interview will be taking place over dinner, he just doesn’t know he’s cooking or paying for it yet. I’m extremely pleased to be inside escaping the tumultuous weather that is every bit British. A background. Ishmael attended Greenwich university but decided to change and moved to Southbank university where he graduated with a high 2:1 and before he had actually graduated had managed to secure a job in a highly esteemed building firm. An achievement that should be recognised as it is becoming increasingly difficult for graduates to find work at all, let alone work within their field. As Ishmael speaks about his work I find out about what it is he does “my job entails management of… No. I’m in charge of various teams. I’m in charge of a package, at the moment my package is all the communal areas of my block which consists of eight stories and is a total of one hundred and sixty flats.” Our conversation turns towards how a space is built and the considerations that go into the process. I was expecting an answer that consisted heavily of the maths behind creating a building, how many builders you need, where you get you equipment from. He did speak about this but only in mentioning, saying that you need to think of your target market and also look at it “like a product at the end of the day, a very large one but a product all the same.” 
In actuality I was pleasantly surprised by Ishmael’s explanation which was articulate and well explained which reflected his company and what they believe in. “The most important thing is, excuse me as I quote the show ‘location, location, location’. The first thing we do before going ahead and laying a foundation and building a space is a lot of thought goes into the area. Mainly what is the surrounding area like, this is important because sometimes people build in an area where it is useless. This is not because the building itself is poorly made or is not aesthetically pleasing but more so because the area that the building or space is built in is not suitable for its surrounding area that it has been built in. You have to build according to the area. That is the most important thing to think of when building. Ishmael gets up and enters the kitchen and continues to speak from there saying “You can end up with an eyesore. As in some cases for example Thornton Heath Library…” There is a pause as he truly dislikes the placement of this library as do the residents who live in that area, he continues “It isn’t the library that is the problem, the issue lies is the area that they chose to build it. The design of the library does not fit its surrounding and is out of sync with the area. This is why you have to think of your surroundings and build according to them.” Ishmael now returns to the dining room with two cups of tea which I welcome with open arms as I have given up hope of food. I’m interested as to why St George Berkeley Group is so successful and well known. What makes them different? Ishmael answers this question “Well, erm… What sets my company aside from other companies is the fact that we are not just building buildings, we are building communities. We don’t just build a single flat, we build flats, we build supermarkets, pubs, restaurants. A lot of commercial things. We go beyond just building a space and we build a lifestyle within a space. We don’t just go to an area and think this a great place to build properties. Instead we look at the area and think can we successfully create a community here and how are we going to create a community here, what is this area lacking?” A very pleasant sentiment and business model to follow. It is now late and Ishmael must be up before the sun so he can get to work, so I bring the interview to a close, not before I ask him one last question. If you were to build your ideal space what would it be like? It is clear that much thought has gone into this for him as he replies without hesitation. “I wouldn’t want it to be empty. I would want to have amenities, activities and attractions. I’d like to have places I can go, somewhere to relax, I like nature so a green would be ideal, just for somewhere I could spend time. I can describe it as somewhere in the city but in the space itself it doesn’t have the same rushed and busy feel. Like my company provides I’d want the community atmosphere.” 
Photos via http://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/property-developers/st-george
By Malachi Hamilton