T Space Architects

http://www.theresident.co.uk/homes-interiors/8-clever-home-extensions/

Complete new look!

I am now a collector of bricks

More specifically, of named bricks.  The names are stamped into the brick, and provide a roll call of our industrial heritage - of hundreds of brickworks, but also collieries and railways.  They range in colour from the deep slate blues of Staffordshire to soapy whites from Suffolk. Seen en masse they are a work of art.

The collection now numbers over 400 unique bricks, a portion of which is shown above.  It's the result of a lifetime of rooting around post industrial sites, scavenging for a well preserved example before the rest is crushed up into hardcore. Alas I can't take the credit - the hard work was put in by Michael Dunn, who kindly sold me his collection.  I have added a few specimens - mostly soft southerners so far. They may not be strong, but they sure look nice. 

Refurbishment....Renovation....Restoration....?

It's lovely to work on characterful houses, but that character is easily lost if the project lacks empathy.  

The moulding on the left was salvaged from a barge board - warped and rotten, but still largely intact after 100 years. No doubt routed by hand from a 4x2" timber. We cut it out, measured and drew it, and had it faithfully reproduced in a close grained, slow grown timber (Southern Yellow Pine) that has a lifespan as reliable as the original.

Last night, Redbridge Council abolished Regional Planning Committees.

By way of recap, all planning applications go to a designated officer - ie a council employee with training in town planning. They assess the proposal, gather responses from consultees and write a report - with a recommendation to grant consent or to decline. Most small applications are decided at officer level, under their 'delegated powers'. However, in certain circumstances, usually as a result of an objection, the case is referred to the Regional Planning Committee.

Now council committees are comprised of elected members. They are not trained planners, but local politicians. Some are excellent, while others are less so.  I have witnessed meetings where one councillor is struggling to keep up, unable to understand the drawings in the time available, while their political opponents are sniggering at his or her ineptitude.  If they fail to make a point about parking provision on one case, they will roll their hobby horse over into the next case.  Needless to say, the decision making can be variable.

Of course we do need the scrutiny of our elected members to provide checks and balances to the system.  This proposal changes the parameters so, for example, it will require three or more objections (or a council member, or a conflict with policy) to call the application in for a hearing at committee.  That in turn should reduce the number of cases, meaning that the mid-tier of Regional Planning Committees can be abolished.  Instead, cases will be heard by the Regulatory Committee.

It sounds like a good idea to me.  It has been promoted as a way to save money (£45k pa on committee time), but I think there are other hidden benefits.  It should enable the members who are more expert in planning matters to concentrate their time on the important applications.  It will reduce the number of cases going to committee, thus removing delays and reducing uncertainty for applicants.  It will reduce the time spent by officers in preparing cases for committee, and significantly will reduce the cost the council incurs in defending poor local decisions at appeal.  

Please will you vandalise one of my buildings?

Up the RIBA!

I have been a member, but not a supporter of the RIBA, for years. I have remained because people expect to see those four letters after my name, but that was the only reason. While the rest of the nation developed a keen interest in design and architecture, the RIBA was conspicuous in it's absence, aloof and moribund. [end of rant]

Until now. I have just stumbled across the new website www.architecture.com and it is fantastic. It is engaging and contemporary, with content that is genuinely interesting to normal people. It looks like an institution that wants to start a conversation.

I miss our Beach Hut.

Standing at the top of the scaffold today my mind turned to where else I could ever want to be.  How about a concrete beach hut?

This was our entry for the Bathing Beauties competition back in 2006 - Reimagine the Beach Hut for the 21st Century.

I am a big fan of LED lighting. 

It's definitely the way to go. Bulbs are now available in a warm white (look for 2,700 to 3,000 degrees), and dimmable versions, and each bulb uses around a tenth of the electricity that a conventional filament bulb would (that's because we are not relying on heating something up until its white hot to use as a light source). The bulbs also last much longer, up to 30,000 hours we are told (5.5 hours a day for 15 years).

....or do they? A year ago, we installed over 100 bulbs thinking they would last us for years (they are much more expensive). However, 30% of them have already failed. The supplier is replacing them for new (apparently it's due to substandard circuit boards), but I guess this is a new technology that is still maturing.

Blank site, blank paper.

We are delighted to have received our newest commission for a new build family home in North London. It's a challenging site and brief, but it's the constraints that bring out the best design solutions you know!

In a crowded world city like London, it's a privilege to design any new building, and we now have several working their way through the various stages of production.

Stairs are often the money shot of an interior.

They offer the opportunity for a photo that has height and depth, allowing long views through the house with glimpses of spaces beyond.  

Also, the staircase itself can be a sculptural object that sweeps through the house.  By way of example, the image above shows a staircase we designed as part of a complete reinvention of a Manor House in Hertfordshire www.t-spacearchitects.co.uk/#/hertfordshire/4560058567

So very very excited about our newest project.

It's a stunning house in a great location, and has played host to moments of history.  Best of all, we are acting as both architect and builder and are charged with a complete refurbishment, internal remodelling, basement and extension.  

By the time we are finished, the house will look as good as it ever has, but will function much better, consume less energy and be fit for the 21st century.

Stratford Stratford

Back in 2006, when we were based in Stratford, we put together some thoughts about the Olympic Masterplan.  We made a booklet and even created a website (www.stratfordstratford.co.uk) to cope with the onslaught of interest we were anticipating.

The thrust of the argument was that the Masterplan should be widened to include the existing Stratford, which was chosen for its large site and transport links, but was a deeply imperfect town centre.  'More organ donor than host borough' I think was the quote.

There is no doubt that the Olympics was an unmitigated success, but also true that Stratford Stratford still has someway to go in it's development.

Anyway, we circulated our booklet to everyone involved and received a handful of polite responses.  Most memorable was the one we received from Prince Charles' office;

'I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your recent letter to The Prince of Wales.  It was kind of you to take the trouble to write as you did.

Yours sincerely,'

A gem from 1905 - and one from 2014.

For many years all PCs were grotesque beige crates.

Then in 1998, it dawned on Jony and Steve that if these were to become central to our lives, then they should probably work nicely and look good. And with that, Apple Inc took over the world.

Lumbering along very slowly behind is the world of home electrics.  We have had nice switch plates and light fittings for years, but for some reason manufacturers have blindspots for certain products.  How often have you been admiring a new interior when your eye settles on some munter of a smoke alarm, extractor fan, thermostat, CCTV camera, alarm panel...?

There is hope though. Eventually someone in a polo neck walks into the technical department, opens the curtains, rubs their noses in what they have made and demands better. I salute some of the fruits of their endeavour (clockwise from top left);

Icon fan by Airflow - www.airflow.com

Doorbell by Spore - www.sporedoorbells.com

Thermostat by Nest - www.nest.com

Smoke Detector also by Nest

There are others, but these four look good together on my page.

Extending houses is easy. You just add a bit.

The skill comes in growing the house. Bigger houses need bigger hallways, wider kitchens, tables for christmas and sofas for a gaggle. They need more to provide more toilets, to handle more ironing and store more shoes.

We often find ourselves removing bad extensions - additions with low ceilings and poor light levels, which not only squander the opportunities but actively blight the original house.  If the circulation and daylight are not resolved, the rooms now stranded in the middle of the house can just become dark thoroughfares.