Writing & Speaking
The red tape
Most normal people (i.e. not architects) who are interested in architecture and design tend simply to enjoy the fabulous spaces and places they visit, see on TV or the internet, or – if they are lucky – live and work in.
Occasionally they will dislike them. In many cases they are indifferent and rarely consider how the buildings came to be as they are. The red tape, the Kafkaesque intricacies of our planning system, the technical stipulations and the sheer drudge often involved in bringing beautiful buildings to life are of little interest to them.
I heartily endorse the view that if the end result does not increase the sum of human happiness in some way, the fact that the resulting building may meet all legislative requirements is meaningless.
have written for the professional and consumer press for a number of years on architecture and design as well as teaching and lecturing alongside full-time private architectural practice.
It is my view that many of the problems we face as a society when it comes to present-day buildings, towns and development is because they are not subjects of everyday discussion. There has never to my knowledge ever been part of the school curriculum that deals with these matters. We have few if any popular dramas showing what architects do, alongside dealing with the day to day concerns of all of us.
The binary proposition
And what of the binary proposition with which we seem always to be faced? Old or new? You can’t have both. Which camp are you in? Twee conservation or – heaven forbid – pastiche reproduction? Or are you a brutalist monster interested in covering our green and pleasant land in glass, concrete and steel? How did glass, concrete and steel become bywords for architectural desecration?
Examples of some of my writing can be found here. I am keen to find opportunities to demystify architecture and planning. I believe it is possible to talk to people about subjects they encounter every day of their lives without resorting to jargon and putting the supposedly arcane into the context of normal life.
Architecture, planning and development involve technical complexity but ultimately are about life enhancement, joy and beauty. My aim is to make the technical intelligible without smothering the delight.
Kevin had the innate ability to understand and interpret our dreams for bringing the outside in and the inside out.
Your Architect Ally is all about ways to make the technical intelligible without smothering the delight.
If you would like a no-obligation chat, please contact me:
Mobile 07899 997 159
Email kevin@your-architect-ally.com
