Thoughts on architecture, places, gardens and the process of design.
Rome doesn't feel planned. It feels accumulated. Walking through the city, I found myself noticing less the individual buildings than the countless layers between them.
Read article →A sketch does not need to be polished to be useful. Often the quickest drawings reveal how a facade is ordered, how a room gathers light, or how a threshold changes the experience of arriving home.
Read article →The planning process can feel opaque at first, but a clear brief, careful drawings and a thoughtful response to context can make each stage more understandable and far less intimidating.
Read article →A garden is not simply the space left over around a building. Treated with care, it can become an outdoor room, a source of light, a daily ritual and one of the most generous parts of a home.
Read article →Older buildings carry traces of previous lives, decisions and adaptations. The challenge is to understand what is valuable, what can change, and how new work can add another thoughtful layer.
Read article →Materials shape atmosphere before we even name them. Timber, stone, brick, lime and metal each bring their own weight, texture and capacity to age gracefully with a building.
Read article →Photographing buildings is a way of noticing what might otherwise pass quietly by: a shadow on a wall, a worn step, a line of planting, or the calm rhythm of repeated windows.
Read article →Good homes support the ordinary moments of life. Making coffee, coming in from the rain, sitting beside a window or gathering around a table can all be quietly improved through design.
Read article →An enduring home is rarely loud. It is usually measured, flexible, well detailed and capable of supporting change without losing its sense of order, comfort and belonging.
Read article →