Another Architecture Podcast

In this episode I am joined by the architect Ty Tikari, who founded the London studio Tikari Works with his wife Nicola. We talk about Pocket House, a small home designed on what was formerly a double garage and located on a typical Victorian street in London.I really like solution-based projects, and this is a classic example of solving, what was in this case, a small plot overlooked on three sides by other houses, to create a house that feels spacious and private. Tikari Works have been experts in turning constraints on their head on this project.In this case they were so happy with the solutions, originally being developed for the family that owned the plot and lived next door, that part way through the designs, they ended up buying the plot and developing it for themselves to live in with their two children!At the end of the episode, I ask Ty the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by the architect and builder Horacio Cherniavsky, one of the founders of the Paraguayan studio Equipo De Arquitectura. We talk about La Casa Intermedia, a single storey, one bedroom home in the city of Asunción.The home as been built on a narrow plot and is characterised by distinct vaulted brick roofs that cover a sequence of spaces. The spaces span the full width of the property and are interspersed with internal courtyards, meaning every room has a double aspect.What I love about the house is it is very private from the street, but inside reveals an oasis like space that has been carefully put together using local craftsmen and a building process the studio has described as ‘pretty slow and delicate’At the end of the episode, I ask Tom the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by the architect Tom Kundig of the Seattle based studio Olson Kundig. We talk about two of their projects, the Costa Rica Treehouse and Rio House.Costa Rica Treehouse is a property built entirely of locally harvested teak wood. It is inspired by the jungle of its densely forested site on the Pacific Coast and rises above the tree canopy to provide views of the surf at nearby Playa Hermosa beach.Rio House is a steel and glass box that hovers above the land, supported by two concrete piers. The property provides a discreet hideaway for the owner couple to retreat from the distractions of city life. The elevated living space provides spectacular views of Rio de Janeiro, the sea and the famous Christ the Redeemer statue.In the interview we discuss the similar and the contrasting themes across the two projects. Both homes are elevated from the ground,  designed to respond passively to their environments and  are very open to the elements, yet both of them are totally unique to their context and to their owners.At the end of the episode, I ask Tom the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by the architect Simon Pendal. We talk about his project Beaconsfield House.The home is an extension and renovation of a 1940’s workers cottage, located in the suburbs of the Australian city of Perth. The scheme retains the original cottage fronting onto the street and extends it to the rear with a new extension to create new livings spaces, a master bedroom and a multi-purpose space for the artist owners to display their work.This is no ordinary extension, however. The new parts have been designed intentionally as a spatial sequence, that unveils itself in a series of sculptural, primitive, cave-like spaces. The existing house is linked to the extension via a huge, upturned boat curved ceiling and the curves and circular forms are repeated in the walls and window openings.The projected is unexpected in its suburban surroundings and has a hint of Corbusier in its use of material, form and colour.At the end of the episode, I ask Simon the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by the architect Metin Van Zijl of the Dutch architecture practice, Studioninedots. We talk about Villa Fifty-FiftyLocated on the site of a former Phillips factory, in the city of Eindhoven, this project was shortlisted by Dezeen as one of the best houses in the world in 2021. The home breaks the typical mould of house and garden and instead fills the entire, polygon shaped urban plot. Instead of being all solid building however, the outdoor space is given an equal share of the space to interior, with courtyards and patios carved out of the building.Described by the architects as a new typology for maximising interaction, the building form is one big flat roof with a large circular opening in the middle that has a tree growing out of it. Most of the living spaces are single storey and very public, with glass sides and double, or even triple aspects. Contrasting with these very open glass spaces is a three-storey square metal tower, that penetrates through the roof and contains two children’s bedrooms, stacked one above the other.The house really does challenge convention and achieves a home that is unique and has certainly inspired some of the projects I have worked on.At the end of the episode, I ask Metin the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by the architect Matt Loader of Loader Monteith Architects. We talk about their latest project, The Makers’ House. The home is designed for an architect and a ceramicist and is an extension to a Victorian Villa that had previously been subdivided into flats. As designers themselves, the project was a close collaboration between client and architect and has resulted in a beautiful design that manages to sharply contrast a new form with an old building.Loader Monteith have created a single storey, sloping roof addition to the classically proportioned house that creates a spacious open plan living area with vaulted ceilings, as well as ancillary spaces including a ceramic workshop. In the interview I talk to Matt about the challenges of working in a conservation area and how they carefully balanced their attention between the new and the restoration aspects of the design. We also discuss how they designed the building to be able to be separated into two separate dwellings, ready for downsizing in the future.At the end of the episode, I ask Matt the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by the architect Sarah Wigglesworth, and we talk about her latest project, Haycroft Gardens. This is the first one-off house to be designed by Sarah Wigglesworth architects since Stock Orchard Street, the ground-breaking home and office, a project known by some as Straw Bale house and completed over 20 years ago.Haycroft Gardens is a home designed on a back land plot in London, that continues the studio’s sustainable agenda. It is designed to passive sustainable principles and to encourage local wildlife habitat, however, it’s the design as a multi-generational home that really sets this home apart.I talk to Sarah about designing the home for three generations of the same family to live together and about why Sarah thinks designing homes for multi-generational living will become increasingly important. It was a pleasure to interview an architect that has been so influential on how we design for living in the 21st century and I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did.At the end of the episode, I ask Sarah the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys her about her home?– what house has she visited that has really inspired her?– and, if she could choose anyone to design her a new house, who would she choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by the architect Vinu Daniel, founder of Wallmakers. We discuss Pirouette House, a stunning family home in Kerala, India.The studio is devoted to the cause of using mud and waste to create architecture. This project was designed as a tribute to the British born Indian architect, Laurie Baker, a pioneer of sustainable and organic architecture and an architect often referred to as the ‘Ghandi of Architecture’ for the humanitarian emphasis of his work.Pirouette house is a sculptural feat, that looks like no other house you will have seen. In the interview Vinu tells me how the twisted and undulating forms were inspired by the movements of a ballet dancer and how he arranged to re-open a disused brick Kiln for one last hurrah to create the distinctive Rat Trap Bond brick walls, a technique invented by Laurie Baker himself.As well as his project being unique, so are Vinu’s methods and it was great finding out more about his principles, his devotion to the use of waste and to find out how he functions as a so called ‘vagabond’ architect, without an office and moving his design team from building site to building site.At the end of the episode, I ask Vinu the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by the architect Clinton Cole, founder of CplusC. We discuss Welcome to the Jungle, a home for Clinton and his family, in Sydney AustraliaDescribed by Clinton as a direct response to the climate emergency facing our planet, the project wears its principles on its sleeve. A whole wall facing the street is made from solar panels, plants cascade out of every other window opening suggesting an overgrown jungle inside, and the building is topped with its own vegetable garden. But this is no normal garden, set on a flat roof. In this design, the metal soil filled planters form the actual roof itself and the produce allows its occupants to be as self-sufficient as possible.In the interview we discuss the double skin façade that creates space for all the wildlife and functions as a passive thermal layer for the building. We also talk about Clinton’s mantra, that ‘a house is a machine for sustaining life’ and I found out what it is like to live in such a unique home.At the end of the episode, I ask Clinton the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by the architect Christine Lara Hoff, director of the Berlin based practice Hoff Architects. We discuss No Mans Land, a 19th Century traditional farmhouse, located in former East Germany, that has been given a new lease of life.Designed in collaboration with Sierra Boaz Cobb, the project is described by Christine as an architectural ‘palimpsest’, that is, something that is reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form. (yes, I googled it…) The project is a beautiful example of a sensitive reinterpretation of an old building, but I also really wanted to discuss it on the podcast to find out more about its approach to achieving net-zero energy consumption.In the interview I talk to Christine about the state-of-the-art sustainable interventions she made on this building, how they have seamlessly been integrated into the home and how she worked to retain the original features of the farmhouse.At the end of the episode, I ask Christine the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys her about her home?– what house has she visited that has really inspired her?– and, if she could choose anyone to design her a new house, who would she choose?If you would like to find out more about Hoff Architects and the project No Mans Land, you can find information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.com.I hope you enjoy listening.

In this episode I am joined by the architect Jay Gort, director of the British practice Gort Scott. We discuss The Rock, a home they have designed for a family of five, overlooking Alta Lake in Whistler, Canada.The home is conceived as a form, which belongs to the rocky outcrop that it sits on, emerging from it, surrounding it, celebrating it. The design plays with the contrasts between light and dark and openness and enclosure. Living spaces are formed out of concrete blades, that seemingly emerge from the rocky outcrop. The heavy and rough forms of the concrete, forms walls and floors that frame views of the lake and surrounding mountains. The split levels of the living spaces respond to the natural topography of the rock below and are unified by a floating horizon of a textured ceiling above.In the interview, Jay tells me about how he convinced the family  to select a UK based architect to design their dream home in Canada, by visiting and getting to know the rocky outcrop intimately. We discuss the process of developing the design and the influences that shaped it and how this incredible house feels to live in now.At the end of the episode, I ask Jay the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by Jennifer Kudlats, founder of Canadian practice Studio A/C. We discuss the Shallmar Residence in Toronto, designed for a family of five, with a serious art collection.The practice describes the project as a house ‘disguised as an art gallery’ They took inspiration from the artists Agnes Martin and Donald Judd when designing the interiors, including a kitchen island composed of 4 monolithic concrete blocks.Although it appears entirely new, the house is actually a renovation of a 1950’s property. The entire ground floor is open-plan, with the space divided by floating walls that don’t touch the perimeter and chunky columns that create a colonnade across the middle. The design results in flowing liveable spaces that flooded with ample natural light and perfect for enjoying the artworks.At the end of the episode, I ask Jennifer the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys her about her home?– what house has she visited that has really inspired her?– and, if she could choose anyone to design her a new house, who would she choose?If you would like to find out more about Studio A/C and the Shallmar Residence you can find information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.comI hope you enjoy listening.

In this episode I am joined by the recipient of the 2021 Emerging Architect Award at the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada awards, I talk to Anya Moryoussef about her Craven Road Micro House project in Toronto. ‘I don’t need a lot of space, I’m not worried about resale, I just want a house for me’ , this was the simple brief given to Anya by her client Laurel and I love the design she has delivered.In the interview I find out how Anya fought tooth and nail for her client to get approval for the design, how she worked within a small footprint to create a simple and private living space with plenty of daylight and, how she delivered the project to a modest budget by being smart with material choices.At the end of the episode, I ask Anya the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys her about her home?– what house has she visited that has really inspired her?– and, if she could choose anyone to design her a new house, who would she choose?If you would like to find out more about Anya and the Craven Road project you can find information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.com.I hope you enjoy listening.

In this episode I am joined by Alex Michaelis, one of the co-founders of Michaelis Boyd architects. we talk about their project, Arijuju, located in Kenya.This house has been referred to as the most beautiful bush house in Africa. It is located on the Boranan Lewa Conservancy, a 90,000 acre conservation area in Kenya, and is situated next to a watering hole frequented by elephants, baboons and lions.The concept of the courtyard house is simple, to nestle and merge in the landscape so that it is almost imperceptible, and it has been designed to focus on what Alex describes as, the holy trinity of views, sunrise, sunset and. Mount Kenya.In the interview I find out how Alex helped the client find the perfect location for the villa, what his influences were for the design and how they constructed this off-grid villa, under the watchful eye of some very curious and hungry animals.At the end of the episode, I ask Alex the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?If you would like to find out more about Michaelis Boyd, the Arijuju project and some of the references in the interview, you can find information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.com.I hope you enjoy listening.

In this episode I am joined by Andrew Brown of the Scottish architecture studio Brown and Brown, that he co-founded with his wife just over 10 years ago. We discuss their most recent project, Lower Tullochgrue.The project is an extension and refurbishment of an historic house in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, with amazing views over the Spey Valley. The existing house is set on an outcrop and they have extended it with a black box that cantilevers out over the sloping landscape to create a covered area for the clients 1960’s Ford Falcon.In the interview we talk about the stunning location, I find out how the builder had a local dis-used quarry re-opened so that they could use stone that matched the original house and how Andrew tells me how Donald Trump’s book ‘the art of the deal’ has been used to create a secret door handle to a concealed downstairs toilet.At the end of the episode, I ask Andrew the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode I am joined by John Choi, one of the co-founders of Chrofi architects. We talk about their project, Lune De Sang, located in New South Wales, Australia.The project is a former dairy farm bought by a couple, who are now ambitiously re-wilding the land with native hardwoods that will take between 50 and 300 years to mature. Chrofi have worked for the couple for over a decade, creating several structures on the land, including sheds for the forestry equipment and most recently the pavilion, which is now the couples permanent residence.Nestled within the landscape, this home has been built to last, and like the hardwood trees they are planting, there is no doubt the home will certainly outlive the couple. This is architecture responding to the idea of a 300yr growth cycle. I enjoyed talking to John about this unique project and finding out what it was like to work with a client with such a long term vision.At the end of the episode, I ask John the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?If you would like to find out more about Chrofi and the Lune De Sang project, you can find more information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.com, including images and links to some of the references from the interview.

In this episode I am joined by Alicia Casals, one of the co-founders of Nomo Studio. We talk about their project, Villa Patio, located on the Spanish island of Minorca.It is a private residence that is very sculptural in form, the entire villa appears to be carved out of a block of white stone. The design concept is underlined by complex geometrical rules revolving around a pentagon, but don’t worry, this one looks nothing like the one in Washington.I loved talking with Alicia and finding out about how the studio used geometry to respond to the orientation of the site, by making the most of good views, shielding the bad ones from view and providing protection from the strong Balearic winds. The result of their approach is a beautiful courtyard villa with amazing views of the Mediterranean.At the end of the episode, I ask Alicia the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys her about her home?– what house has she visited that has really inspired her?– and, if she could choose anyone to design her a new house, who would she choose?If you would like to find out more about Nomo Studio and their project Villa Patio, you can find more information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.com, including images and links to some of the references in the interview.I hope you enjoy listening.

In this episode I am joined by Siri Zanelli, one of the co-founders of the London based studio Collective Works. We talk about her own home, UpSideDown House, which was completed last year.It is a refurbishment of a typical Victorian terrace house in London, which has been extended outwards into the garden, upwards into the roof, and downwards into the basement, but what makes this design unique and special is the very bold use of colour for the interiors.I enjoyed discussing the house with Siri and finding out about what she learnt from being on the client side for once and how working alongside a colour consultant helped her create this special home.At the end of the episode, I ask Siri the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys her about her home?– what house has she visited that has really inspired her?– and, if she could choose anyone to design her a new house, who would she choose?If you would like to find out more about Collective Works and their project UpSideDown House, you can find more information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.com, including images and links to some of the references in the interview.I hope you enjoy listening.

To celebrate one year of the podcast, we have a special treat. I discuss the house recently  named at the Don’t Move improve awards as London’s best new home improvement project. My guest is the architect Ben Allen, founder of Studio Ben Allen and we discuss House Recast.The project is a reinterpretation and extension of a typical home from the Victorian era, that creates a beautiful sequence of playful spaces, filled with colour, texture, pattern, curved shapes and filtered natural light. The judges described it as a project that ‘pushes the boundaries of how homes can look and feel’.What is really interesting about this project is the wider themes it explores. Ben has used it as a test bed for ideas about off-site production, not something that is usually explored on small, compact and challenging sites such as this one.  At the end of the episode, I ask Ben the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys him about his home?– what house has he visited that has really inspired him?– and, if he could choose anyone to design him a new house, who would he choose?If you would like to find out more about Studio Ben Allen and their project House Re-Cast, you can find more information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.com, including images, plans and links to further information.I hope you enjoy listening!

In this episode, I talk to the architect Anais Blehaut, one of the founders of Daab Design about their latest project Guild.The project is a transformation of a beautiful 18th Century Georgian townhouse in central London. Daab have restored the 5 floor property, which, in its latest incarnation, was being used as a mix of office space and apartments, into a home for a family of seven.What daab have done to this 260 year old property is beautiful. They have carefully balanced preservation with the needs for modernising by taking a very respectful approach to the challenges of working with an historic building. However, they have managed to balance this with being extremely bold, particularly with colours.The home is of its place, it could only be in London, but this is the London straight from a movie set; Dickens, Sherlock Homes, I wouldn’t even be surprised if Mary Poppins turned up on the doorstep as the new family nanny.At the end of the episode, I ask Anais the three questions I ask all my podcast guests;– what really annoys her about her home?– what house has she visited that has really inspired her?– and, if she could choose anyone to design her a new house, who would she choose?If you would like to find out more about Daab design and their project Guild, you can find more information on the episode page at anotherarchitecturepodcast.com. I hope you enjoy listening.