For the latest edition of The Designer’s Toolbox, we asked the founder of architecture studio Wadhal, Fahad Malik, to talk us through some of the tools he’s carried with him throughout his life. From an extant Japanese film camera (used to photograph the objects seen below) to the perfect clothes steamer, Fahad explains the lure of “old and weathered” tech …

Words Fahad Malik
Photography Fahad Malik, Kane Hulse, Lorenzo Zandri

Pakol caps

It’s common for men in Pakistan and Afghanistan to wear these during the colder months, particularly in rural areas. I often wear them too, especially when I go back home. They’re made from wool, and I like that they are only available in earthy colours such as brown, tan and off-white. They also carry a contradiction; while they can be rolled down further on the head to protect the ears, no one wears them this way. The correct way is to have a taut, slim roll, so it sits as high on the head as possible. I have a childhood memory of watching a man re-rolling one of these on his bent knee while sitting down, to get it nice and tight. In north-west Pakistan, it’s traditional for men to put a flower in the ridged part of the cap, which is a nice detail.

Minolta X-700 camera

We’re fortunate to work with lots of great photographers and my skills remain limited in this area. But a few years ago, I got frustrated with the flatness, saturation and automatic post-processing on my phone photos, so I bought this old 35 mm film camera from a stall in Camden market.

I use it regularly to take site photos or capture moments from life, enjoying the lack of immediacy that comes with film. It forces you to slow down, and there’s a nice dopamine hit when you get the images back and hopefully have some memories of what you were up to over the last three months. I think people look more like themselves in film photos rather than phone photos; the images seem more real somehow. I don’t tend to print many of the photos off. Instead, the digital scans are neatly organised in albums on my computer. I enjoy the anticipation of waiting to receive the images – I get them developed by Aperture Printing, and it usually takes one or two weeks. I think I also enjoy that this Japanese company no longer exists, so the camera feels quite retro.

Bowers & Wilkins P5 headphones

I have owned these headphones for 12 years and they are still going strong! These are out of manufacture, so I’m very paranoid that they may break. Over time the leather on the ear pads started to rip, and I got a local guy who works on motorcycle jackets to repair the pads for me, despite being bemused at the request. The sound quality on them is undefeated, and I also like that they’re not too bulky. Even the most expensive headphones these days seem to be made from plastics; I really enjoy that these are leather and stainless steel.

I like to listen to music while I work, so they get used all day every day. I’m often drawing rather than writing, which means I can listen to music without getting too distracted. Having said this, I do enjoy spending some time during the day when I’m just listening to the sounds around me. I think we all experience screen-time exhaustion, so it’s good to have a pause from these kinds of stimulants too.

RIBA Guide to Contract Administration

I’m fully aware that the temptation with a list like this is to pick a book that would make me look like a cool and thoughtful designer, but in reality, this is the book I have referred to the most throughout my career. We work through to construction on all projects, closely controlling the execution of works on site. The less glamorous side of this is a quagmire of architect’s instructions, interim payments and managing extensions which we inevitably must handle by the book. I bought this guide when I was studying for my final Part 3 qualification exams, and it’s proved invaluable ever since.

Cubitts, Guilford spectacles

I have owned these for eight years, and sadly they no longer make this model. I’ve always loved the precision of stainless steel and was drawn to their nostalgic design. I also enjoy the singularity of material and lack of chunky nose pads, unlike most glasses in this style. Why complicate something that’s already elegant?

Surface Laptop Studio

I completely appreciate this is an obvious and banal inclusion, but I love this laptop; it’s been with me ever since I started my practice. It’s perfect; I can use it as a normal laptop, put it in tent mode to hide the keyboard and watch something, or flatten it completely to use it like a drawing tablet. These crazy structural gymnastics shouldn’t be possible for a laptop, but I love it. Best of all, it comes with a stylus which gets tucked into a little ridge underneath with a magnet. I especially enjoy that my drawing pen is now broken – maybe this is a bad example of wabi-sabi, but I’ve always enjoyed tech that gets old and weathered, including phones. The worst part is when they are brand new.

They no longer make these anymore; evidently no-one else needs such a strange laptop design other than me. I guess maybe there’s a theme emerging in my possessions: buying something that goes out of production due to no wider market demand and then holding onto it for dear life!

Steamery Cirrus 3 steamer

Steaming my clothes has always been an essential part of my morning routine, and this is something I use daily. Steamers are great if you live in a small space with no room for an ironing board, and I find the process quite calming and satisfying too.

I ended up on an unplanned night out many years ago and had to put my tote bag in the cloakroom inside the club. I remember the woman politely asking, “Why is there a steamer and lint roller in here?” I guess it’s not something most people bring along to the club …

Wadhal Tote Bag

We were lucky to work with StudioSmall for our brand design and website a few years ago and had these tote bags made. As well as proving a great gift for our friends and collaborators, this hasn’t left my side ever since. The canvas fabric is super durable – it’s the perfect size and shape for everything I end up carrying around, from steamers and lint rollers to drawings and samples.

Pentel Mechanical Pencil - HB Black P205

I’ve owned this pencil for 25 years. I started using them in high school for sketching during art class, and this one has stuck with me all the way through architecture school to today. 0.5mm is the perfect all-rounder lead thickness, and these are super durable and precise. With technical drawing, it’s important that the thickness of your line doesn’t change, which is one of the reasons I favour mechanical pencils over traditional ones. You can buy them at the London Graphics Centre, and they’re widely available elsewhere.

The downside is the eraser can come loose from the ferrule and get stuck in the pencil, meaning the only way to load new lead is through the 0.5mm nib itself. It doesn’t bother me, as there’s an inherent level of steadiness and precision required for this manoeuvre, needling one line of lead against another to ensure neither snaps during the process.

Wadhal is an architecture studio founded by Fahad Malik in 2021 after graduating from the The Glasgow School of Art. It focuses on creating narrative-led spaces that reconsider design, tradition and culture in new and unexpected ways. Recent projects include a residence and private art gallery in London featuring a reinterpretation of a South Asian stepwell, and a Manser Medal-shortlisted new-build home that explores how architecture can both conform to its context and challenge convention. Follow Wadhal on Instagram.