Category Archives: Architecture/Design

Summer is definitely here!

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Matt Wood

A great new header-image courtesy of Jim Stephenson – a.k.a. clickclickjim – to replace a rather chilly looking view of Gonville Hall. It won’t be long before my original header can be used again – a view of the Old … Continue reading →

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Two Weeks, Two Talks.

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Matt Wood

Aqua Design asked me today via Twitter whether I’d posted anything recently that they could run in their e-newsletter The Great Architects Daily (they’ve pointed to a couple of my recent posts). I had to confess that I have slowed … Continue reading →

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Contemporary Rural Architecture: Setting an Example

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Matt Wood

I’m giving a talk to the AGM of CPRE Norfolk in July, and the next issue of their newsletter will carry a ‘trailer’ for the talk in the form of a short article about Ruralise. Last week, the editor set … Continue reading →

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Cheer up, The Guardian!

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Matt Wood

The Guardian Housing Network blog posted a ‘social housing gallery’ last week. I told them I thought it was a bit bleak, and that I’d rummage out some of my own snaps of council housing in Norfolk, to cheer them … Continue reading →

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The Cork Rural Design Guide

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Matt Wood

In a recent post I talked about the impact that local ‘design guides’ might have on how developers approach the design of new housing, and previously I’d talked a bit about the Norfolk Residential Design Guide. I noted that aside … Continue reading →

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On ‘Local Distinctiveness’

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Matt Wood

In my previous post I reflected on the complex issue of ‘local distinctiveness’. Back in 2006 I attended a seminar run by the English Historic Towns Forum entitled ‘Designing for Housing Growth: Sustaining Historic Towns’, and was quite alarmed by … Continue reading →

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Local Materials Faux Pas

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Matt Wood

While writing the recent posts on local building materials, I was thinking about an estate in Wymondham called Whispering Oaks. The development is set at the very northern tip of the town, over a mile from the town centre and … Continue reading →

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Building Norfolk

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Matt Wood

Matthew Rice’s book ‘Building Norfolk’ attracted quite a lot of attention when it was published last year; not surprisingly. It is a beautiful book full of exuberant, colourful drawings. I could write a whole other post, lamenting the death of … Continue reading →

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Norfolk’s ‘High-Road’ Buildings

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Matt Wood

As I explained in a previous post Stewart Brand in his excellent book ‘How Buildings Learn’ makes a distinction between ‘high road’ or special buildings and ‘low road’ or normal, everyday buildings. I also noted that the vast majority of … Continue reading →

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More Norfolk ‘Stuff’

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Matt Wood

So the vast majority of Norfolk is covered in brick-built houses with pan-tiled roofs, with plenty of surviving older timber-framed buildings, typically rendered over and painted – but that’s not the end of the story, of course.

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