Anne-apolis

  Architects are notorious for their jargon, to the extent that they have created a whole language as a way of persuading their clients that something quite ordinary is now very special in their design. They are also known for using this esoteric language to pull one over other members of the design and construction team! However, in the case of "outdoor room", this is maybe justified, in that we are referring not just to any outdoor area, but one that has distinct ways of separating it from the rest of the outdoor realm. This is often done, at the most basic, by changing the floor surface - paving in a sea of grass or ground cover being a typical strategy. But to "read" as an outdoor room, more intervention is needed, especially in the vertical dimension. This could be achieved by a change in level, whether set higher than the surrounding garden, or a sunken area, often dictated by the relationship to the indoor spaces adjoining. This deck is at a higher level from...

In many cultures all over the world and in different eras, architects have had an obsession with stairs, whether for ceremonial purposes, or for the visual and spatial excitement in a more utilitarian context. In another blog, I will be looking at specifically at ramps, an even older solution to navigating a change in level, although very much back in the designer's repertoire as we become more conscious of universal accessibility .  The massive pyramids of the Ancient Maya, the over-scaled steps up to the Parthenon in Athens, and the elaborate stairs on the ceremonial route within the Forbidden City in Beijing, give us an idea of the diversity of design approaches that have been used to express power and authority. But today, I want to look at some more modest uses of stairs, in a domestic setting. Until as late as the mid-twentieth century, the design of stairs was often dictated by class and expense - the main stairs for the household owner's family and guests was often a ve...

  One of the first things I touch every morning, without fail, is clay - my essential early morning coffee comes in a plain glazed mug. I am also completely surrounded by clay, whether at home or at work, by the brickwork that fills in the walling, whether exposed as face-brick, or hiding behind a coat of plaster. Yellow face-brick common throughout Johannesburg I often forget how fundamental clay is to our evolution as humans, with different manufacturing techniques, distinctive shapes, and pattern designs, whether etched or painted, being used by archaeologists to reconstruct timelines and evidence of habitation. The making of pottery is one of the oldest pursuits of us as humans, whether using sophisticated industrial processes to achieve consistency... Arzberg china, typically the architect's choice of crockery or whether hand-made, as an artistic expression... Handmade bowl by Bronwen Lankers-Byrne Clay is a wonderfully versatile material, and very easy to work with, as most o...

Recently I moved office for the fourth time in the same building, this time to the top floor with all the other retired emeritus and honorary staff into the area we fondly call the retirement village! With each move, I have taken the opportunity to cull all the old exam scripts for shredding and any other accumulated stuff that no longer has a use - a great exercise in editing out the clutter. With a team of enthusiastic lab staff, the move took about an hour, but it was only this week that I felt that I had truly moved in. The significant activity was the hanging of pictures and a map, which made the room look complete.  This set me thinking of the role of the vertical surfaces in the design process - often designers spend many hours working on the horizontal dimension, the planning and furniture layouts, as this influences the main building activities and constitutes the bulk of the expenditure of a project. So what is the part played by the walls? As an experiment, I turned the ...

  As a child, one is often told: "don't touch" and not just for our own safety with hot stoves and live electrical points, but when in the supermarket and in other people's houses. This sense of touch then becomes far less developed than our sense of sight and hearing, and is often completely sidelined in architectural design. To replace this, the 'visual texture' of objects and materials becomes part of the design repertoire, especially to enrich our spatial experience. Modernism, especially between 1920 and 19960, tended to suppress texture in favour of smooth finishes that evoked the 'machine aesthetic', but gradually, a wide variety of textures has been reintroduced into the language of design, through the reawakening of interest in traditional crafts as well as through new technologies that produce a variety of surface treatments, such as brushed metals. Everything in a Modernist space will both look and feel smooth, texture being the 'look...