Tag Archives: house-builders

A Ruralise ‘Reader’

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Matt Wood

It’s been a while since my last post, the final installment of my Forest Village epic. The piece was well-received: specifically one international journal has picked up on it and I have done a re-write for publication, hopefully in their … Continue reading →

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We Need More…But Not More of the Same

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Matt Wood

Given the imminent arrival of the Leveson Report, Planning Minister Nick Boles’ foray into the difficult territory that is UK green-field development did well to make Newsnight last night. During most of the day I had been following the opening … Continue reading →

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Self-Building Bridges

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Matt Wood

In a previous post I suggested that mainstream commercial developers and the major house-builders regard selling development land as serviced self-build plots as nothing more than a lot of hassle and a lost profit margin – and that the new … Continue reading →

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Tayler and Green #11 – Critical Regionalism?

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Matt Wood

A pervading narrative in UK housing-design is that of ‘local distinctiveness’. The idea that new homes should ‘fit in’, or ‘reflect local character’, is enshrined in national and local planning guidance. For house-builders – and most of the local authority … Continue reading →

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Challenging Times for Affordable Housing

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Matt Wood

I attended a very good event on the future of affordable housing in Norfolk last week, hosted by Saffron Housing. Chief Executive Adam Ronaldson gave a sobering account of the impact that the credit crunch and recent government policy are … Continue reading →

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Normal…or Just Mediocre?

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Matt Wood

An interesting piece in BD this week by Owen Hatherley in their ‘Opinion’ slot, touching on the special/normal issue that I’ve come back to repeatedly on Ruralise (start here if you’re interested). ‘Every generation’ Hatherley notes ‘ manages to get … Continue reading →

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Time Out #3 – Tibby’s Triangle

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Matt Wood

Black buildings are a common site in the Norfolk countryside. Most often this involves black-painted weatherboarding on a timber-framed barn or more lowly shed, and sometimes it’s black-painted brick (see last post). Black tar-based paints were used widely used during … Continue reading →

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The Wide-Fronted House #4

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Matt Wood

In a recent post I described how the square-on-plan semi, with front and back living rooms became ‘universal’ during the inter-War period. Private house-builders built three-quarters of the 4 million news homes produced in the period, mostly without the help … Continue reading →

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Tesco Self-Build?

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Matt Wood

A piece on one of BD Online’s blog today was stressing about the prospect of Tesco getting involved in the UK self-build market, and idea which Housing Minister Grant Shapps has been toying with this week according to Building Design … Continue reading →

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The Wide-Fronted House #3

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Matt Wood

The terraced house was the norm for new homes during the late nineteenth century up to the First World War (see previous post), but thereafter it was the semi-detached house that emerged as the standard format for council-housing and private … Continue reading →

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