Culture

I was invited to attend the “Sovereign Wealth Summit”, run by Dan Kennedy, the highest paid marketing man in the world who’s known in the business as “No Bullshit” for his straight talking. We discussed how the world’s wealthiest people like to be treated, how they do business and what they expect in levels of…

Last month I visited Provence with Jemima and the children, a favourite getaway for us that uniquely refreshes our minds and restores perspective. The architecture of Vaison La Romaine – the closest town to where we stay – is a forever evolving document of how landscape, environment and politics shape the buildings we live in,…

It’s typical that we never visit the landmarks that are right on our doorstep. Recently, I attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace which gave me the rare opportunity to wear a tailcoat and – as a domestic architect – get a closer look at a truly monstrous home. It was undeniably a great privilege…

My inability to truly take a holiday has become something of a running joke. Architecture is simply too deeply ingrained in me to ever be able to entirely detach. No matter where I am or what the occasion is, I can’t help look at the local buildings and think, “Who made that and why?” Last…

It was February when I first announced my plans to tackle the Maratona dles Dolomites sportive. Reading back on my blog post, I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to double my training efforts and get a lighter bike. As I wrote then: “It’s one of the biggest cycling events in…

On June 18th, I attended a panel called UP-POP, which discussed how culture and architecture feed into each other, especially in regards to how technology is constantly redefining how we interact with the built environment and how it interacts with us. After an introduction from You+Pea (the design practice that organised the event), Hannes Coudenys…

More than twenty years have passed since I first struck out on my own as an architect and now I find myself at a defining point in my career. I’m no longer working in isolation, I have a brilliant team around me who motivate me more than every day I spent on my own. Despite…

The first half of my year is defined by one thing: the Maratona dles Dolomites. It’s one of the biggest cycling events in the world, with thousands of amateurs and professionals gathering in Italy every year to push themselves through sweat and agony against the beautiful backdrop of the Dolomites. I’ve started the long process…

Every architect should draw on as broad a range of influences as possible. If you only look within architecture for that next spark you’ll hit an inevitable problem: it’s all made by architects. Style, method and philosophy may change from architect to architect but everyone within a profession will have a degree of similarity. For…

Last weekend, I visited the Worth School in Sussex to talk candidly with sixth formers about what it means to be an architect, how to become one and why they should. Every architect is part of a legacy. We draw inspiration from thousands of years of construction to create buildings that, we hope, will do…