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-Fifty

Located 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 Australia

Described 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.