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...

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...

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,...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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…)...

In this episode I am joined by the architect Jay Gort, director of the British practice Gort Scott. We discuss The Rock, a home they have designed for a family of five, overlooking Alta Lake in Whistler, Canada. The home is conceived as a form, which belongs to the rocky outcrop that it sits on, emerging from it, surrounding it, celebrating it. The design plays with the contrasts between light and dark and openness and enclosure. Living spaces are formed out of concrete blades, that...

In this episode I am joined by Jennifer Kudlats, founder of Canadian practice Studio A/C. We discuss the Shallmar Residence in Toronto, designed for a family of five, with a serious art collection. The practice describes the project as a house ‘disguised as an art gallery’ They took inspiration from the artists Agnes Martin and Donald Judd when designing the interiors, including a kitchen island composed of 4 monolithic concrete blocks. Although it appears entirely new, the house is actually...

In this episode I am joined by Alex Michaelis, one of the co-founders of Michaelis Boyd architects. we talk about their project, Arijuju, located in Kenya. This house has been referred to as the most beautiful bush house in Africa. It is located on the Boranan Lewa Conservancy, a 90,000 acre conservation area in Kenya, and is situated next to a watering hole frequented by elephants, baboons and lions. The concept of the courtyard house is simple, to nestle and merge in the landscape so that...

In this episode I am joined by Andrew Brown of the Scottish architecture studio Brown and Brown, that he co-founded with his wife just over 10 years ago. We discuss their most recent project, Lower Tullochgrue. The project is an extension and refurbishment of an historic house in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, with amazing views over the Spey Valley. The existing house is set on an outcrop and they have extended it with a black box that cantilevers out over the sloping...

In this episode I am joined by John Choi, one of the co-founders of Chrofi architects. We talk about their project, Lune De Sang, located in New South Wales, Australia. The project is a former dairy farm bought by a couple, who are now ambitiously re-wilding the land with native hardwoods that will take between 50 and 300 years to mature. Chrofi have worked for the couple for over a decade, creating several structures on the land, including sheds for the forestry equipment and most recently...

In this episode I am joined by Alicia Casals, one of the co-founders of Nomo Studio. We talk about their project, Villa Patio, located on the Spanish island of Minorca. It is a private residence that is very sculptural in form, the entire villa appears to be carved out of a block of white stone. The design concept is underlined by complex geometrical rules revolving around a pentagon, but don’t worry, this one looks nothing like the one in Washington. I loved talking with Alicia and finding...

In this episode I am joined by Siri Zanelli, one of the co-founders of the London based studio Collective Works. We talk about her own home, UpSideDown House, which was completed last year. It is a refurbishment of a typical Victorian terrace house in London, which has been extended outwards into the garden, upwards into the roof, and downwards into the basement, but what makes this design unique and special is the very bold use of colour for the interiors. I enjoyed discussing the house with...

To celebrate one year of the podcast, we have a special treat. I discuss the house recently  named at the Don’t Move improve awards as London’s best new home improvement project. My guest is the architect Ben Allen, founder of Studio Ben Allen and we discuss House Recast. The project is a reinterpretation and extension of a typical home from the Victorian era, that creates a beautiful sequence of playful spaces, filled with colour, texture, pattern, curved shapes and filtered natural light....

In this episode, I talk to the architect Anais Blehaut, one of the founders of Daab Design about their latest project Guild. The project is a transformation of a beautiful 18th Century Georgian townhouse in central London. Daab have restored the 5 floor property, which, in its latest incarnation, was being used as a mix of office space and apartments, into a home for a family of seven. What daab have done to this 260 year old property is beautiful. They have carefully balanced preservation...

In this episode, I talk to the architect Gianni Botsford about House in a Garden. The project is an incredible solution to creating a home on a small, overshadowed and overlooked back garden plot in central London. On his website he describes the project as ‘a house that is a roof and a hole in the ground’. Others have described it as being like an iceberg, with only one floor of accommodation above ground and two below. The defining visual feature is the roof, a curved, funneled, occulus,...

In this episode, I talk to the Sri Lankan architect Palinda Kannangara about Studio Dwelling, the home and office he has designed for himself in Sri Lanka’s capital city Colombo.The building sits at the perimeter of wild marshland, on the outskirts of...

In this episode, I talk to the architect Cade Hayes, co founder of US architecture studio DUST. We discuss their project Tucson Mountain Retreat, a home constructed of Rammed Earth and located in the heart of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.The single...

In this episode, I talk to the architect Amos Goldreich, founder of London based studio Amos Goldreich Architecture. We discuss his latest project, a house for a gardener. A renovation of a typical London Victorian terraced property, designed for a...

In this episode, I talk to the architect Carl Gerges about his first project Villa Chams, a private residence located in the arid landscape of Lebanon.Based in Beirut, Carl runs his own architecture studio, but he is also well known as a member of the...