The Last One.
Well, here we are, at what seems both a finale and a fresh start—the last entry of “Thoughts for the Weekend.” Reflecting on the stories woven through these past forty-eight posts, I’ve ventured across a landscape dotted with architectural musings, personal anecdotes, and the odd grumble about the state of the world.
In each article, I’ve tried to bridge the everyday with the extraordinary, connecting the concrete realities of architecture with the fluid dynamics of our daily lives. This blog has been a kind of drafting table, a place to sketch out thoughts on topics ranging from the structural integrity of ancient ruins to the modern complexities of living with technology. In fact, ChatGPT just read all the articles in 3 seconds and summarised them as follows:
TFTW distils a year of reflective journeys through the realms of architecture and personal experience. Each article melds thoughtful critiques of physical spaces with intimate life reflections, prompting readers to ponder the profound relationships between the environments we construct and the lives we lead. The series champions a deeper understanding and appreciation of how architectural design shapes our daily interactions and societal norms, inviting a contemplative look at both the visible and invisible structures that frame our world.
But why wrap it up now? Because every project has its scope, TFTW was never meant to be a perpetual diary but a collection of reflections meant to challenge, amuse, and provoke thought, not just for the sake of filling space but to genuinely stir the pot.
Starting this series, I aimed to… well, actually, there wasn’t really an aim. I was inspired by a couple of columns I have read each week for a while, one by Tyler Brûlé for over a decade. I had thought for several years it would be interesting to try something like that. So, as part of an overall business marketing push, I wrote one that led to another, which led to quite a lot of reader emails, which spurred me on to do another, and then forty more.
I was going to write about English market towns, walled gardens, and the long metal fences that edge country estates. But I’m not a journalist, and I don’t need to do this for a living. I’ve written 31,796 words and spent the equivalent of four working weeks in the past year writing. I think that’s a fair effort.
Take care and have a good weekend.
All the best
This Week’s Links:
Zhoom! What was that? That was your life, Mate!
A lovely garden in Wiltshire.
Interest rates, inflation, and recession in the 1980s vs. now—are there lessons we can learn? The average wage in 1989 was £17k. Inflation would have that at £43K now, but it’s £33K. The average house price in 1989 was £59K. Inflation would have that at £150K now, but it’s £257K. But interest rates did hit 14.88% in October 1989.
Vote for my friends at Snug Architects amazing building in Southampton.
Main image credit: Looking out the window. (DALL-E)
