Monthly Archives: September 2011

On the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Matt Wood

Earlier this week I was asked by a journalist from Building Design ‘what does the NPPF mean for architects?’ This caught me on the hop, despite the fact that I’ve been meaning to write something on the NPPF for some … Continue reading →

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All Change, Please!

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Matt Wood

‘If towns and cities are the natural territory for progressive left-of-centre politicians, the countryside is the heartland of the Conservative vote, and it is no surprise that the new government is putting renewed emphasis on rural development issues’, I observed … Continue reading →

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Post #100: Ruralise in a Nutshell

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Matt Wood

Well it’s been exactly a year, and exactly 100 posts, so it seems appropriate to use this missive to offer you a summary of Ruralise to date. It is a tidied up version of some notes I made with a … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Ruralise!

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Matt Wood

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…

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Frampton and Pallasmaa on Regionalism

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Matt Wood

Given the theme of local distinctiveness I’ve been kicking around recently on Ruralise, I thought I should finally get round to re-reading the only ‘proper’ architectural writing I can call to mind on the subject – Kenneth Frampton’s 1983 essay … Continue reading →

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On ‘Fitting In’

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Matt Wood

I recently attended a ‘stakeholder workshop’ on South Norfolk’s new draft design guide being prepared by the Council’s own Design and Conservation team and Tibbalds. It was an interesting session. I was quite encouraged at the widely held opinion in … Continue reading →

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Thatch-fest #3

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Matt Wood

Thanks to Rob Morrison (@morrisonbrink) for pointing me at this contemporary thatched house by Moering Architects in Germany. And I think there’s another thatched project on their website here, which looks even frutier; I hope they get to build it.

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Rural Sustainability #2

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Matt Wood

My Twitter ‘drag-net’ continues to throw up interesting nuggets that wouldn’t have come my way otherwise. This piece by Jamie Shorten in Town and Country Planning magazine, from 2007, addresses some themes which I touched on briefly all the way … Continue reading →

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What’s this village doing here?

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Matt Wood

A rare sortie abroad in the last couple of weeks has reminded me that despite the great cost of holidaying overseas (in cash and carbon), it does give one the opportunity to see new things and have time to think … Continue reading →

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