Centre for Music architect eyeing up London office

A founding partner of architect Diller Scofidio + Renfro has said she expects the New York-based studio to open a London office in the next year.

The firm has worked on very few jobs in the UK since it was founded in 1981 but has recently nabbed a couple of high-profile schemes in the capital.

DS+R has designed a new collection centre for the V&A in Stratford, as well as the London Centre for Music to house the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican.

Liz Diller told Building her studio had already opened a small office, which is the base for “three people, on and off, when things get intense”.

It also has staff co-habiting at Sheppard Robson, the London-based architect working with DS+R on the Barbican concert hall.

But Diller said: “Probably in the next year or so, we will open an office [in London] and probably have more and more people here.

“When we start designing, we are always in our studio – we really don’t believe in satellites – but we have a lot of consultants who are here, and when it becomes technologically challenging to do everything remotely then we will come here.”

Diller added it was looking at more jobs in the UK. “We are hoping that more things will evolve,” she said. “It’s a fantastic place to work, a very natural thing for us.”

DS+R beat several high profile firms to the Centre for Music scheme, including Foster + Partners, Amanda Levete’s practice AL_A, Renzo Piano and Frank Gehry.