Anne-apolis

Mould from rising damp Creative Commons Licensed:  https://www.cc4c.imperial.nhs.uk/our-experience/blog/damp-and-mould-advice  If, like me, you have lived in a water-scarce region all your life, there is nothing more welcome than a couple of overcast and rainy days - that is, if you live in a weatherproof dwelling and have a nice dry place to come home to. But even for those of us fortunate to have formal accommodation, rain and other sources of water can be a headache, and sometimes in the literal sense if the damp starts to cause fungal growth or mould, both of which can result in a number of serious medical conditions. The characteristic white powder when a clay brick wall has rising damp Creative Commons Licensed:  https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-close-up-brick-wall-efflorescence-white-salt-powder-disfiguring-appearance-30064306.html If we start at the bottom of the building, a problem associated with very old structures, or relatively new ones where the builder has...

  Some time back, I did a blog on door handles , specifically looking at the problem of replacing them in a heritage building. Today I take a step back to look at the door itself. I am writing this blog from my office in a building completed in 1942, at the time the last word in modernism. Every aspect of the design has been carefully considered, with even the precast concrete panels on the exterior scaled to line up with the steel bars in the windows. While most of the renovations over the years have either been very sensitive to the original design, or fortuitously simple, in character with the building, the front doors were not so lucky - clearly somebody thought that an "old" building needed "old looking" doors! The more recent front door to a modernist building No doubt, the inspiration for this choice of a panelled door with decorative mouldings came from the building next door, which was built in 1922 and has panelled doors throughout - to the exterior doors ...

I need to start this blog with a confession: until I retired, I was absolutely rubbish as an indoor plant mom, either over-watering, forgetting to water at all, or trying to grow things in the darkest corner of my place. My one memorable exception was a spider plant (in my family fondly known as a "hen-and-chicks") which I abandoned in my flat for four weeks while I was on holiday. I came back to a very limp and sad plant, but after a couple of days of excessive water and loving care, it shot back to top form. I still am no expert, but gradually I have been developing skills and routines to improve my success rate, starting with succulents which are very resilient, providing they are not over-watered. Mine sit on a sunny window sill, so they get plenty of light, and if they get a spot too much water, it evaporates off quite quickly. My miniature succulent collection. My interest in indoor plants straddles two of my lifelong interests, the one being interior design and the oth...

  Almost a year ago, I shared some of my storage ideas that I have evolved over the years living in a 1930s apartment with very limited built-in storage. There is a very small built-in wardrobe that is woefully inadequate, even for my minimalist collection of clothing, prompting me to have an open hanging rail where I keep some of my more displayable items. My tiny wardrobe with the hanging rail for the extras This is not ideal - even with a carefully curated collection of garments, the open rail can often look untidy, especially when the cats have been playing amongst the shoes. The even bigger problem is that everything gets dusty, and I really cannot live with the aesthetic of plastic covers. I have also been hesitant in installing built-in cupboards, as I am very conscious of destroying the beautiful 1930s detailing and the wonderful proportions of the room. Dwellings of more recent design, whether flats or houses, will usually have built-in cupboards in the bedrooms, and are ...

  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...