When I come to write these Musings every month, I look back over the list of interesting snippets I’ve been collating. I find myself more than a little amazed each time a theme emerges. Sometimes it’s more obvious than others. As is the case this month. Perhaps that’s not so surprising. It is September after all. A month that feels much more about new beginnings to me than the first of January. Mercifully without the need to come up with pesky resolutions.
This September is more about new beginnings and the future than most. For we have finally found the perfect house. It’s only taken three years and a few false starts to find. A breeze really. We now have a following wind. And are set to move imminently. So I’ve had to close the shop temporarily. If you would like to be notified when the shop reopens or are in desperate need of a sample, just email me at design@andreahorgan.com.
The perfect house is not quite perfect. Yet. And that of course is why she is perfect. She has good bones. Now I’ll have the fun of doing up a real house. As opposed to an imaginary one. And without having to undo other people’s ideas of perfection. While at the same time, retaining and reusing as much as is possible. It doesn’t get much more perfect than that. I know, bet you can’t wait to learn more…
Thankfully, retention and reuse are becoming more mainstream in building renovation. You’ll find some pretty cool examples detailed in this article from The Guardian. For more fascinating ideas on the future of the built environment, have a look at the work of Neri Oxman. Or you can check out the documentary about her vision in Netflix’s series Abstract: The Art of Design.
The whole series is worth a watch. I enjoyed it immensely and learned so much. Here are some ideas on how the pandemic may shape the cities of the future. Hopefully these changes will actually materialise as these cities sound much more people friendly than the ones we currently inhabit. Perhaps a different way of measuring progress may help. I was delighted to read that The Netherlands is building an ark for its bees. And that some clever folks at MIT have developed a cost effective battery from common materials. Certainly makes the idea of an electric vehicle more attractive.
Here it is, my favourite project/restoration of the moment… this beautiful, inspirational house by Archiplan Studio in the historic Italian town of Mantua. During the restoration, they uncovered 15th Century frescos and other architectural details, which they have skilfully incorporated into a contemporary home. Jude Jelfs’ figurative ceramics would not be out of place here, I think.
This month I have been enjoying Alchemy by Rory Sutherland and Evolutionary Ideas by Sam Tatam. It’s so reassuring to discover that there is little need to be original…
A bientôt
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The featured photograph is by my good friend Tadej Turk. You can see more of his wonderful work here.