It’s hard to know how to respond properly to the recent Bartlett report. At first glance, the kinds of bullying and gaslighting exposed at UCL all sound depressingly familiar to any student with an interest in traditional architecture. But to see that it was so much more widespread and serious, puts in the shade the …
Quinlan Terry’s new book is a handsome, high quality production at a very reasonable price. It’s an unusual book; not quite what I had expected but I’m very glad that such an original approach has been taken by the author. I suppose I had expected a version of a treatise that would be aimed at …
“The problem with people who are stupid is that they don’t have the intelligence to realise how stupid they are.” John Cleese I’m quite fond of this quote above from John Cleese as it can explain a lot about human behaviour. This observation is otherwise known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, after the Cornell University researchers …
When I teach Classical Architecture, I try to avoid any discussion of modernism in class. As a promoter of classical and traditional architecture you might think that critiquing modernism would be a natural part of the learning process. What I’ve found however is that once the topic of modernism is brought up, the classroom mood …
In this fourth instalment of the “Cracking the Classical” series of blogs, I’m going to look at architectural mouldings. Although mouldings are such a ubiquitous feature of classical architecture, it’s been quite a challenge to write this piece as it's a topic that’s not explored in detail in the many classical treatises. So let's start …
Continue reading Cracking the Classical Part 4 – Mouldings, Ornamention, Decoration and Language
Since COVID began, I’ve been on a conveyor belt of furious activity. When income dried up, I had to trim back on all things related to classical architecture and concentrate on archaeology alone. A big part of me would just love to stay in the relative comfort of archaeology work and leave it at that, …
It’s a story I’ve told before.. those of us who are interested in practicing traditional and classical architecture encounter obstacles that other architects never need to consider. Obstacles that include limits on accessing education, thoughtless shaming by our peers, and professional roadblocks to becoming certified to practice. And if we survive all that, we find …
As our historic buildings and city centres age, we are faced with difficult decisions in regards to modernisation and conservation of our urban fabric. Often overlooked is the fact that traditional practice of Classical Architecture is the main foundation that underpins much of this heritage. It would seem logical to draw on this foundation and …
“All this talk brings the ears so far forward that they make blinkers for the eyes,” Edwin Lutyens Writing is a messy business; I find it a painful exercise that prunes away all the noise I have accumulated in my mind to get to some truth that is hidden in the undergrowth. Writing is also …
"Anti-Ugly" is an intriguing title, one which attracted me immediately to the shelf of my local bookshop. I learned subsequently that the title "Anti-Ugly" refers to an early 1960's movement among architectural students at the Royal College of Art against what they perceived as the traditional architectural establishment. This movement was riding the wave of …
The Impractical Architect 