Architecture - An Obsession

I'm obsessed with architecture. I think it's one of the most fascinating subjects there is.

It influences us constantly, the interiors and exteriors we're surrounded by. It reveals history too. The gothic churches in France remind us of the Capetian kings and how they allied themselves with the powerful bishops to defeat rebellious feudal lords. Even if you don't know that history when you see the tall, elaborate features of these churches you sense the power, the symbolism of what they represent.

If I ever become wealthy or an influential politician I'd like to take on large architectural projects. I'd build social housing that had elements of classical design like columns, pilasters and lintels. I believe if we gave people better homes to live in they would have greater aspirations. The concrete tower blocks that were hastily built around the '60s were awful, in my opinion, because they had very little design at all. I'd call them anti-architecture. However brutalism, the style of architecture that uses steel and concrete in massive blocks and which aims to be more functional than anything else, isn't universally bad. The National Theatre in the South Bank in London is an interesting and thought provoking example.

I also think the few large building companies that dominate house building in the UK should be reined in and made to improve their standards. It's not good enough building identikit cookie-cutter houses that have barely any character. The vast majority of housing recently built here and still being built lacks almost any inspiring feature. I'd like to see more sliding-sash Georgian windows, arched doors, mansard roofs, walls decorated with reliefs, louvre window shutters, fake (decorative) horizontal wooden planks like New England houses, art nouveau balconies with tall French doors.

Okay, I've got it out of my system now. Anyone else have a similar obsession?

  • It more because of fixed price contracts.  You have to cut your margin to the bone to get the job and then you want to finish it as quickly as possible with minimum outlay so you can get onto the next job.

  • One of the biggest issues in my area of work is the designers having little or no construction experience. The design works on paper but cannot physically be installed /implemented. And then the guys on site change it to make it buildable but perhaps without the knowledge of how those changes affect load paths or the overall design. 

  • I can't agree with you about all NTs being deficient - I suspect their motivations are very different - probably more about profit.   Details cost time & money with little return so are best avoided - also, anyone who expects the 'over and above' level of detail and accuracy is likely to be PITA to work for so they over-quote to avoid it.

  • Exactly - any NT ‘expert’ is just a bumbling schoolboy winging it. 

    No NT expert can ever have the same eye for details and learning as a non expert ASD.. 

    An autistic person controls the entire reality they live. They’re their own architect - not just of things but of the universe itself! 

    Reality is architecturally created for NTs to think they have freedom :)

  • I do everything - i'm a qualified sparky, I do all plumbing, bricking, window fitting, kitchens, bathrooms, woodwork/joinery, roofing etc.  I'm currently turning a 2-bed bungalow into a 5-bed chalet bungalow single-handedly.

    The only thing I don't do is plastering - I don't want to spend my life in the naughty-corner facing the wall.

  • No I have no background other than CDT at school. 

    I can learn a new trade within hours. 

    I learned how to be a joiner few years ago. I had a time served Joiner/cabinet maker help me a little and he just made errors and got in the way. He’s a master cabinet maker and his practical application was like running on steam - lol 

    All built from scratch using raw materials.. The cabinet maker couldn’t even see the details I was looking at... 

    he did advise me on where to get the wood though - Zebrano Birch Ply 

  • That's the problem I had trying to explain to architects how the faces of the roof became the zero plane which made the structural calculations easy - they insist on trying to calculate everything from the floor plane which makes all the maths really hard.

    I have 9 dormers on my roof so there's an awful lot of compund angles to cut.

  • Anything that changed the world for the better? Edison, Tesla, the list goes on and on.

  • That’s my point entirely... Mistakes? 

    Those are what normal folk do with anything practical. Maybe not with social constructs but any other construction. 

    I never make mistakes with practical solutions. Ever. If I did - I would’ve died years ago lol. 

    The ability to visual in multidimensional space is not something normal people can do. Which is why they make mistakes. A good designer will have an eidetic multidimensional mind so they can run things like a computer model in the brain

  • 'Real' architects spend their whole life designing simple boxes for cheap extensions where the floor area has to be maximised for minimal cost (planning permission is all about volume so a pitched roof costs you floor area - so a flat roof prevails).

    Most simply don't have the experience to design something original.   I have to do all my own plans and building regs applications because I couldn't find and architect that could understand the challenge. 

  • Grand designs just demonstrates how Joe Public is easily conned by people that they trust.  The Architects seem to be only interested in trialling some new, unproven tech at someone else's great expense.

    Every time you deviate from square you start to multiply the costs because of the maths involved and time to mark it all out and that every cut is now at a wonky, compound angle which dramatically increases the waste through mistakes.

  • I suppose you might have a point. Weird people do come up with great things. 

    I'd imagine although taking on a Grand Designs project is expensive and hard work, if those people ever sell the houses later on, they will have a higher value than a normal house because novelty makes them a rare commodity. Scarcity often adds value to something.

    Did you have a background in construction before building the swimming pool?

  • Ordinary windows close like a fridge door so there's only one seal and the hinge design and locking mechanism pull it up tight.

    Sliding seals need to be loose or you wouldn't be able to slide the unit so they will always be draughty.

    A good cathedral to look at is Lincoln - it's a structural mess, totally off-centre and completely different left to right.

  • Grand Designs is the perfect example of how normal folk are clueless with design ideas. 

    All the good stuff is done by the ‘weirdos’... 

    Same with a build I did in 2016. The ‘experts’ made so many *** ups! 

    Unless they own the design company only thing they’re interested in is getting home and socialising. 

    All ‘workers’ are the same. 

    I built a swimming pool ten years ago - the experts showed up in their Merc Sport, and told me a load of Bullshit - so when he left, the real quality began. 

    NTs are educated to be stupid

  • I hadn't considered the energy efficiency of sliding-sash windows. Hmm. Maybe if they were triple glazed like windows in new homes in Sweden are that would compensate for it?

    I've never noticed that about cathedrals, you seem to have a good eye!

    My dad who used to be an electrician said that he'd spend longer on perfecting a job than some of his colleagues. I suppose it must be the same in the building trade. Too many workers rushing the job.

  • I'm into the technicalities of buildings and I agree with you - modern housing is terrible.  If you look at the designs, it's all about minimising costs but also de-skilling the build so the house is a simple box with all the details bolted on afterwards - and the permutations and combinations are used to give variety.

    I've had a couple of brand new houses and the standards were shockingly bad - they couldn't save another penny on the build if they tried.

    I'm doing a lot of building at the moment converting my own house - but it's all very much in keeping with the 1920s style - except for all the modern conveniences.

    Your wish for sliding windows etc. is not practical because they are not very efficient and the energy efficiency ratings required today make certain designs too difficult to meet the standards.

    You only have to watch Grand Designs to see that when people get conned by their architects into having expensive features that their budget goes out the window.

    I like cathedrals because of the subtle crowd-control features and the differences between the sides of the building - like the left (sinister) side is normally much less ornate than the right side.  I also like to see the errors where the building structure got out of control during the build so there are bodges everywhere.

  • Errr - I’m obsessed with how real expert architects get it wrong - a lot! 

    Like they have no imagination whatsoever. 

    I claim - any good building, well designed and functional. The architect is ASD. 

    I also claim - I am no architect but I could design a better building than a timeserved NT architect. 

    Not just architecture - any design trade. I’ve done it time and time again. 

    A child ASD could do a better job than an NT architect, period. 

    Any good design can not be designed by a ‘normal’ ever!