Thoughts for the Weekend & this Week’s Links
Without Prejudice. I think I’m coming to the end. It’s starting to feel like time to change direction. I’ve designed enough buildings. Just over one a week for the past twenty years. Alongside that, I’ve been teaching continuously. Some are small, some big. Mostly houses, but also adventure playgrounds, coffee shops, offices and industrial buildings. […]
Thinking Clearly About Your Home
Thinking Clearly About Your Home In this episode, I answer a selection of viewer questions about homes, design decisions, and how to think clearly before committing to expensive or irreversible changes. Build Cost Data Link: https://carlarchitect.co.uk/thinking-clearly-about-your-homes/ These aren’t step-by-step instructions or “do this, not that” answers. They’re the kinds of conversations I’ve had with […]
Thoughts for the Weekend & this Week’s Links
The Dolphin Centre. I had a depressing visit to a town centre last weekend. One I grew up visiting. Where I bought a Pop Swatch in 1990. And where Our Price Records was the place for adding to the CD collection. Wherever you are, you’ll know the kind of place. You’ll have similar memories. Urban […]
Thoughts for the Weekend & this Week’s Links
Getting It Back. It’s dark. Wet. Rain blowing against the window. I’m waiting for the sun to come up so I can see the trees. In the meantime, I’m wondering: why are we obsessed with getting back what we spend on house renovations? We’ve all been trained to think like developers — to see our […]
Why This “Awkward” House Is Actually Brilliant
Why This “Awkward” House Is Actually Brilliant Most people would walk straight past this 1970s townhouse. Boxy. Awkward. Compromised. But when you slow down and really look at it, something else starts to appear. All the best Carl
Thoughts for the Weekend & this Week’s Links
Life is a Lasagna. I’m on the motorway. Cruise control on. 62mph. Sitting steady in the inside lane. It’s busy. All lanes. Both directions. 9am. I spot a tractor driving slowly over one of those bridges, built where a small lane once crossed this land. I’m listening to Senator Rand Paul talk about automation. How, […]
Thoughts for the Weekend & this Week’s Links
Mid-Winter Planning. Happy New Year. Well, Happy Mid-Winter. It’s a stupid time of year for a fresh start. We force this Gregorian New Year on ourselves, despite nature telling us it’s not a new beginning. It’s time to hunker down. Eat the nuts we gathered in the autumn and wait for the new growth of […]
I Took This “Upside Down House” Idea and Tested the Real Costs
I Took This “Upside Down House” Idea and Tested the Real Costs In this follow-up to the Upside-Down House concept, I take the original idea and price it properly. All the best Carl
Thoughts for the Weekend & this Week’s Links
The Good Old Days. I was in a coffee shop the other day. Coffee #1 in Shirley, Southampton, in case you care. While trying to edit an hour of video footage into a 37-second segment, I was distracted by an old couple at the next table. A gentleman had been sitting there for a while, […]
Thoughts for the Weekend & this Week’s Links
The House That Needed Turning Upside Down. Some houses tell you exactly what’s wrong the moment you step through the door; others take a little time to reveal their story. The terrace house I looked at this week — a tiny two-up two-down in Southsea — definitely belonged to the second group. A small two-up […]
