Thomas Heatherwick is sitting down with a delegation from Singapore when I arrive at his new open‑plan office in central London, so I busy myself admiring the seating options in the waiting area. There are clever spinning-top chairs that his studio developed in 2010; seats removed from one of the Routemaster buses he designed; and a cluster of mushroom-like wooden stools, arranged over a welcoming layer of overlapping kilim rugs. Dotted around are models of the studio’s projects, including a miniature version of the vast Google “landscraper” (of which more later) that is being constructed opposite the Guardian’s newsroom.
Before I have time to decide where to position myself, Heatherwick has broken away from his meeting. He walks me straight back out into the street, where he begins to talk. He is still talking, having barely paused for breath, 27 minutes later. I am not sure I have ever had someone talk to me about so many things all at once in such an explosion of words. It’s fascinating and bewilderingly intense.
