Paul Nel is the quiet, measured half of Jay & Nel Architects. The yin to Dean’s yang. It might even be this dichotomy of personalities which sculpts the signature work emerging from the practice, for all projects are, to a greater or lesser extent, collaborative. Paul may drive one, but Dean will enter the design stream at some stage and vice versa. Clients get the diverse skills, talents and personalities of both. ‘Nothing comes out the practice without a bit of Jay and a bit of Nel,’ shrugs Paul. ‘They’ll have gone through the wringer with both of us…’

With his wry smile, Paul describes himself as a late developer. Late to architecture, to marriage, to children. Listening to him, though, he’s less to do with speed and more about extreme care and caution. Too much so, in his opinion.

Paul’s Durban-born, based and bedded down for good, it seems. It’s where he wants to be. As a teenager, once he’d squashed the common game ranger career as first choice, he chose to study architectural technology at the then Durban Technikon. Although he didn’t pursue art as a school subject, it was part of who he was and what he did. During his three-year diploma – particularly working in the field for his ‘prac’ – there was clear consensus that he should take architecture up a notch or two, to degree level. But true to character, he bided his time by joining Bruce Stafford’s practice in central Durban. Dean was one of the architects on the staff, though it would be many years later that Paul would join Dean’s practice and, later, become partner.

For Paul, Bruce’s growing practice was the ideal launch pad. Not only was Bruce’s star rising, but his management style was to give staff elbow room to stretch themselves. Paul spent five years there and vividly recalls his first solo project, an alteration to a house. ‘Bruce threw me in at the deep end. I had very little idea what I was doing from a design point of view… But that was Bruce. You sank or swam. He wouldn’t hang over your shoulder, but would wander in during the presentation to client. It was a very good learning environment.’ And the client’s reaction? ‘Well, it was a very simple design, but they built it exactly to plan.’

Paul signed up at the University of Natal, paid his way through his four-year degree, took a couple of years off, then completed his thesis. Although he didn’t score any varsity credits for having the technician’s diploma, Paul recognises the advantage he had over other students. ‘I’d been exposed to the industry for a number of years, but more importantly, I was better able to manage my time. That helped enormously.’

Paul graduated suma cum laude, and joined Dean Jay’s practice as an associate. All the design work is done by Paul and Dean, and Paul’s still most comfortable sketching his designs and leaving the computerised imaging to the young, technologically sound staff. ‘A lot of my presentation work is freehand – I enjoy that side of it. I’m IT illiterate; still wrestling with my phone and e-mail…’Paul describes the staff demographics as very young, not necessarily by intent, but it works well. ‘It’s good to have them, not simply for the fresh input on current architecture, but on design. Good design, irrespective of where it is or what it is, that’s what interests me.’

Is Paul entirely comfortable with the concept of a decisive Jay & Nel trademark look? ‘Yes and no. But certainly not in the sense that you look at a residential structure and it’s unequivocally Jay & Nel. I like very clean, simple lines. Not minimalist, but rather well-proportioned, modern lines, as in the 1960s modern movement and a new wave of South American and Dutch architecture. Clean lines and simple, open spaces is what our architecture’s about, and we bring those good design principles into our work. I think, stylistically, there’s that subtle thread running through.’

For Paul, if there’s a Jay & Nel trademark look and feel, it will always be profoundly affected by the client. ‘There’s a bit of our clients in all of our buildings. Not so much our commercial work, but residential.’ Having said that, ‘It is their building, but part of an architect’s role is to listen to the client and reinterpret, not be dictated to or stifled. There’s a subtle difference.’ A smile. ‘The perfect client is one who appreciates what we can bring to the project, and appreciates what we’re about. We should educate and lead clients – that’s what they’re paying a large amount of money for, and that’s why they chose us in the first place.’

Paul also feels clients should be wary of choosing an architect because they’re flavour of the month. ‘You’re involved with your architect for two to two-and-a-half years, and you need to be comfortable with each other. Designing and building a home is an intensely personal thing, and as architects, we become part of their lives and significant players in this massive investment – no matter how wealthy the client. It needs to work as a relationship.’

It wasn’t long ago that Jay & Nel, with an award of merit under their belts, were known for iconic beach houses, particularly on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal. They still are. Then they became involved, for seven years or so, with the exquisite game lodges of Singita, and from there, private bush camps covered their drawing boards. It goes in waves. Today, they have a more balanced workload, from residential homes to commercial buildings, from Umhlanga to Lagos.

If  Paul has a passion for anything beyond good design and his young family – wife Jacqui, and two sons, Corbin and Liam – it’s mountain biking. Two mean machines are poised in his garage, and they’re used regularly off road in the Midlands on weekends, or somewhere local on weekdays. And when he’s not cycling, he’s hands-on in the kitchen, entertaining and cooking, something he loves to do.

Paul loves his Morningside home and has no urge to design one from scratch. ‘I’d be my own worst client,’ he grimaces. ‘I’ve too many ideas; it would just be frustrating. That’s why I like where I live now. The bones are all there, I just add and subtract to and from them. It’s eclectic, a bit of everything, which is what I enjoy.’    +27 (0)31 303 1214, www.jayandnel.com