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, 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...

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…...

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…...

6+ day, 16+ hour ago (580+ words) Competition-winning apartment building plans should be approved twice as quickly by NSW councils, and will be three to six storeys high Airy Scandinavian interiors, shaded balconies, light-filled courtyards " could these be Sydney's next art deco apartment blocks or red brick walk-ups? The New South Wales government has launched nine new mid-rise apartment building pattern book designs, which it hopes will support the construction of 112,000 homes in the "missing middle" over the next five years, through its controversial low and mid-rise (LMR) reforms. The designs, among the winners of the government's pattern book design competition, come after the release of eight low-rise home drawings in July. The mid-rise apartment designs unveiled on Monday range from three to six storeys, including four designs for small lots, three designs for large lots and two designs for corner lots. The cross-ventilated and energy-efficient pattern…...

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…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (924+ words) The Kenyan singer, part of the wildly popular Sauti Sol, faced hatred and threats but it made him determined to push for change in a country where being gay is still illegal Coming out as gay was not something Willis Austin Chimano, a member of the Kenyan Afropop band Sauti Sol, had ever considered. From about 2005, when the group " widely considered to be Africa's biggest boyband " was formed, to 2018, Chimano says he "wore a mask" at work, careful how he acted, spoke and dressed. At the same time, he embraced his queer identity in his private life. "I had to do everything in my power to keep my sexuality hidden," he says. His band mates knew, and supported him, but Chimano thought he would not be accepted by the wider public. "I was scared that it could ruin our chances…...

2+ mon, 1+ day ago (233+ words) Sir Terry Farrell, the UK's leading architect-planner and postmodernist, has died aged 87" "Nonconformist' architect of MI6 building dies " news Continue reading... Spies, eggcups and penthouses: Sir Terry Farrell's best buildings " in pictures - In 1965, he set up in practice with his longtime friend Nicholas Grimshaw. During the next 15 years they had some notable successes but progressively their interests diverged. Farrell and Grimshaw's Herman Miller Factory in Bath, completed in 1976, was a landmark of British hi-tech architecture- In 1980, he founded his own company, Terry Farrell & Partners, and had early success as a forerunner in the postmodern movement with buildings such as the TV-am studios by Camden Lock, London. As a reference to the breakfast television filmed there, the building is topped with a dozen eggcups - The Secret Intelligence Service (or MI6) building, Vauxhall Cross, London. It is blown up at the end of the…...