7+ mon, 1+ week ago (1247+ words) It is a place where a Disney-ish castle, complete with turrets, sits near a scaly "pangolin" house. But is Graven Hill now straying from the DIY vision that made its anarchic jumble of styles so mesmerising?What would the world look like if Kevin McCloud had his way? What if each of us had the chance to build our very own Grand Design, letting our streets be lined with personal visions, liberated from the identikit brick boxes offered by the usual big housebuilders?A glimpse of this world exists, sort of, on the outskirts of Bicester in Oxfordshire, where the country"s biggest self-build experiment has been under way for the last 10 years. Graven Hill is a place where rooftops tilt, zigzag and bulge, where windows come in circles, squares and triangles, or poke out from unexpected places. There are…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago (334+ words) Architect known for the exposed structures of his buildings and the geodesic domes of the Eden Project It was Grimshaw's blend of enthusiasms that made his Eden Project in Cornwall such a huge and popular success when it opened in 2001. It became a visitor attraction even before a single plant come into bloom in its huge greenhouses. For Grimshaw, the high tech approach was the way to turn the messy, earthbound and mud-soaked business of architecture into a kind of magic trick. He wanted to use modern materials to create lightweight, prefabricated components that could be put together in an instant, such as the Meccano construction kits that he had played with as a child. He and Farrell went on to build a pioneering co-operative block of flats overlooking Regent's Park, in which they both lived with their families for…...

5+ mon, 1+ week ago (395+ words) My father, John Parker, who has died aged 91, was inspired by his art teacher at South East London Technical College (SELTEC, now Lewisham College) to become an architect, and had a career spanning 65 years. In public service, he worked with the London county council (LCC) from 1962 to 1965, developing the concept of two-storey schools with roof gardens for children with special educational needs. And at the London borough of Lambeth (1965-70), he led designs for Brixton town centre. John was born in Sydenham, south-east London, to Elsie (nee Curtis), a cook, and Richard Parker, who worked for the Metropolitan Water Board. His was a story of social mobility, which took him from relative poverty to a planning career within local government in London. He was evacuated to Devon and Yorkshire during the second world war, and went to SELTEC on his return to…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (343+ words) My sister Liz Barnard, who has died aged 83, began her working life in the government Careers Service, but in her 30s she changed career herself. In 1977 she embarked on a degree in furnishing and interior design at the London College of Furniture, and then moved back to Norwich, where she had grown up, and began to develop property. Liz was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, during the second world war, to Mary (nee Loomes), a teacher, and Arthur Barnard, known as Barney, an accountant. It was a time of rationing and bombs, and Liz continued to be frightened by loud bangs for the rest of her life. Barney moved to gain promotion in his career as a municipal accountant and the family followed him. By 1949, Liz had three siblings, and soon after that, when Mary's sister died, her two children, along with…...

7+ mon, 3+ week ago (904+ words) Millennium-era buildings " including Sheffield's "kettle building' " among a number of landmarks facing demolitionWhat happened to UK's millennium projects?Sheffielders describe it as "alien-shaped" and like a "kettle" but it seems the former National Centre for Popular Music may soon be consigned to history, with the distinctive building at risk of being bulldozed.The Marmite structure " soon to be vacated by its current occupant " is one of three in the UK built around the turn of the millennium to feature on the annual at-risk list from the charity Twentieth Century Society (C20), which campaigns to save architecturally interesting modern buildings. Continue reading... Millennium-era buildings " including Sheffield's "kettle building' " among a number of landmarks facing demolition Sheffielders describe it as "alien-shaped" and like a "kettle" but it seems the former National Centre for Popular Music may soon be consigned to history, with the…...

5+ mon, 3+ week ago (41+ words) From a brutalist apartment in London's Barbican to a flat in the heart of Shakespeare country Continue reading... From a brutalist apartment in London's Barbican to a flat in the heart of Shakespeare country Fri 6 Jun 2025 02.00EDT...

10+ mon, 2+ week ago (1066+ words) Site of the former west London exhibition centre to include nearly 4,000 homes, cultural venues, a park, offices, shops and restaurants Site of the former west London exhibition centre to include nearly 4,000 homes, cultural venues, a park, offices, shops and restaurants On a damp winter's day, there are few signs of activity on the huge, empty triangle of land in west London that was once home to the Earls Court exhibition centre with its distinctive art deco facade. This has been the case for the near decade since Bombay Bicycle Club played the last ever concert at the venue, which opened in 1937 and once played host to artists such as Pink Floyd and David Bowie, as well as annual events such as the London boat show, when vessels floated in the main hall's big pool. However, plans for a new vision…...

2+ mon, 1+ day ago (869+ words) From the ziggurats of the MI6 HQ to TV-am's eggcups and a Hong Kong tower that featured on a banknote, Farrell strived to make uplifting architecture" "Nonconformist' architect of MI6 building dies " news" Spies, eggcups and penthouses: Farrell's best buildings " galleryTerry Farrell made his mark on London. All his buildings had a certain postmodernist swagger, but one of his most conspicuous (ironically, in view of its function) was the headquarters of the UK's Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, on the site of the former Vauxhall pleasure gardens.Completed in 1994, MI6 showed Farrell, who has died aged 87, in his postmodern pomp, energetically juggling historicist motifs to conjure a flamboyant, flesh-coloured fortress, replete with ziggurats and crenellations, dominating its Thames-side locale. Deyan Sudjic described MI6 as "an epitaph for the architecture of the 80s, and its styling that which "could be interpreted equally plausibly as a…...

8+ mon, 1+ week ago (970+ words) The literary giant's only child reflects on his father's devotion in their days together in rural Scotland, his early death, his genius as a writer " and his reputation as a womaniser Richard Blair didn't have the easiest start in life. At three weeks old, he was adopted. Nine months later, his adoptive mother, Eileen, died at 39, after an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic she was given for a hysterectomy. Family and friends expected Blair's father, Eric, to un-adopt him. Fortunately, Eric, better known as George Orwell, was an unusually hands-on dad for the 1940s. Orwell and Eileen had wanted children for years, but he was sterile and it is likely that she was infertile as a result of uterine cancer. Having finally agreed to adopt after their struggle, Orwell was not going to give up on his son. "The thing he…...

3+ mon, 1+ day ago (236+ words) Dr Jac Common, Jo Palmer and Iain Forsyth respond to an article by Ana Schnabl I'm an avid listener of heavy music, including the many subgenres of black metal. Ana Schnabl's reflections on her adolescent draw towards black metal's atmosphere and bleakness, and subsequent horror at the revelation of the politics and motivations of many of the musicians, resonated with me (Angst-filled black metal music became my identity, 25 August). Although metal may reflect and intensify the antagonisms of society more generally (fascism, racism, misogyny and so on), the scene has been and is being reclaimed by the oddballs and outcasts for whom heavy music is not just a sanctuary, but a place to envision a'fairer and kinder world. UK black metal bands such as Dawn Ray'd and Underdark sing (or scream) about Marxism and class solidarity. Backxwash and Uboa (Xandra…...