To many people Wandsworth is somewhere they drive through as fast as the traffic lights will allow on the A3 out of London towards Portsmouth, an area of London that lacks identity and a ‘heart’, with the modern, and partly empty shopping centre since Debenham’s left, Southside at its heart. Look hard, scratch below the […]
The 20th century was not particularly kind to Morden in South London, with a sprawl of housing following the opening of the Underground station interspersed with industrial sheds, a town centre that is focused on the roads cutting through its heart – albeit supporting it as a major bus interchange – and the electrical pylons […]
We have seen a collective madness this week with one of the results of the tragic events in the US being a spate of vandalism to statues of historic figures such as Winston Churchill who, whether individuals like it or not, are part of our heritage and, worse of all, to memorials to those who […]
The beautiful 17th century mansion of Ham House situated next to the River Thames near Richmond is a house with Scottish connections. Closed due to the restrictions for the current health situation, it is slowly and carefully re-awakening into the new ‘normal’. The bringing together of the house and the adjacent manors is a PhD […]
It is many years since I visited Cannizaro Park – and that was for an open-air summer concert, so I didn’t really explore the park which probably is at its best in the spring when the magnificent collection of azaleas and rhododendrons is in full bloom. On arriving at the house you discover the Millennium […]
Looking back a few months in time, it seems strange that the gardens at RHS Wisley were one of the last places I visited before the coronavirus lockdown. While sensible social distancing and other precautions were then in place, no-one really realised then what was about to hit us all as we effectively lost three […]
At one time threatened with development for housing, Morden Park is one of London’s hidden gems, an area of natural woodland and parkland hidden behind housing from the 1930′s which followed the opening of Morden Underground Station at the end of the Northern Line in 1926. At the centre of the park is a large […]
Today’s exercise in this current pandemic was in Morden Hall Park, which has the River Wandle wandering through it, on its way to Wandsworth, the river being enjoyed today by children, splashing dogs, and the occasional father having a paddle. The estate was owned by Westminster Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry […]
One of the benefits of the current pandemic situation is that we are all appreciating the value of local green spaces, parklands and nature far more than perhaps we did. Hopefully this will be reflected in future planning and land-use policies to avoid concentrated urban developments with minimal outdoor space such as in Vauxhall where […]
"The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul."
(Thomas Moore)
To be an architect means having a wide range of interests - architecture, art and creativity in all its variety of forms, sustainability, science and innovation. The greatest interest is often where these different worlds overlap and collide - that is when something imaginative often occurs that pushes us all forward to another place
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