The Construction Industry’s New Clothes?
Just like any occupation or profession, architects have their own peculiar vocabulary. This often hampers understanding between the pros and the public. It is a turn-off for the uninitiated and effectively closing off debate and shutting down contributions from...
Architects’ Drawings: Part 2
Having got to grips with the concept of scale in drawings in Part 1, now in Part 2 we're going draw a simple rectangular room to scale. Find such a room where you're working - don't worry about doors and windows and stuff - just find a room with four walls in a basic...
Architects’ Drawings: Part 1
Architectural drawings hold a fascination for both architects and clients. Whilst they are a primary source of communication within the industry they often confuse clients. I think it can be very helpful for clients to try a bit of very simple architectural drawing to...
How to Solve the Problem of Architects?
You may have noticed that architects continue to exist even if they do not exactly thrive. It has been said that at any given moment, although you may not realise, you are probably no more than a few hundred yards from one. There are a number of possible signs: black...
Object and Process: from Idea to Edifice
Elegant object and elegant building. Both beautiful but developed by different methods.The English do seem to like putting people into boxes: scientist or artist; blue collar or white collar; fictional or factual; functional or aesthetic. Polymaths are viewed with...
Heroes: Sir Alex Gordon
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if you’ve never heard of Sir Alex Gordon. Despite a knighthood and having been President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) http://www.architecture.com he was a fairly unremarkable practitioner. Born in Scotland in...
Insurances – Read the Small Print
As if there were not already enough things to worry about when you’re thinking of building or developing, one subject that ought to provide peace of mind, too often ends up turning dramas into crises: insurance. Insurance is there as a safety net…
Health & Safety
In a universe of confusing acronyms, one of the most curious, to those uninitiated into the world of building, is CDM. Confusing because it is concerned with Health & Safety or H&S as it is often referred to in shorthand. CDM contains neither an H nor an S....
What’s the Difference?
When you live and breathe a particular subject it is very easy to forget that something you take for granted can be a complete mystery to those outside the charmed circle. Take a typical conversation with my brother. Our roads through life diverged many moons ago: he...
Computer Says No
One of my favourite sayings when I was in full-time practice was that the quality of a project depended on the quality of the relationship between client and architect. And on the whole I still hold true to that notion. However, even a client/architect marriage made...
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