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Aspen — New York — Como — Dubai

Journal15 articles

Journal

A House for Fifty Years

Designed for handover day, a house peaks at the photos. We design for the opposite curve — drips, access panels, spare stone and the clauses that keep a house unembarrassed at fifty.

9 September 2026 · 2 min read

The Kitchen That DisappearsThe Kitchen That DisappearsPocket doors, extraction sized for the closed state and one worktop that never hides — how a kitchen closes in under a minute without giving up its work.8 September 2026Read →Cool Without Machines: What Courtyards Do That HVAC CannotCool Without Machines: What Courtyards Do That HVAC CannotShade, mass, orientation and a star-shaped court do the cooling at Desert Rose — the machines only cover the remainder. The passive toolkit, in order of value.1 September 2026Read →The Fifth Facade: Designing the Roof You Actually SeeThe Fifth Facade: Designing the Roof You Actually SeeClients plan four facades and leave the roof to the plant. On parapet shadow gaps, screened service spines, and why the fifth facade is the only one nobody can build out.25 August 2026Read →Stair as RoomStair as RoomTreat the stair as a connection and it becomes a corridor; treat it as a room and it becomes the house's centre. Landings, rails and the nine-tonne staircase at Penthouse One.18 August 2026Read →Glass That BehavesGlass That BehavesTriple glazing, sealed rebates and reveals that do the shading — what it takes for nine metres of glass to feel like nothing at all.11 August 2026Read →Rammed Earth, RelearnedRammed Earth, RelearnedFor a Riyadh retreat, the soil from the excavation became the walls. On stabilised mixes, formwork discipline and why rammed earth is the most honest facade we build.4 August 2026Read →Drawing at 1:1: Why We Mock Up Before We BuildDrawing at 1:1: Why We Mock Up Before We BuildA detail can be perfect at 1:5 and wrong at full size. On mock-ups, shadow gaps, and why every facade corner gets built once in the yard before it is built for keeps.28 July 2026Read →Brass That Ages in Your FavourBrass That Ages in Your FavourUnlacquered brass hands the finishing coat to the people who live with it. Why we specify raw metal — and the four clauses that keep it ageing gracefully.21 July 2026Read →The Arrival Sequence: Designing the First Ten MetresThe Arrival Sequence: Designing the First Ten MetresGates, drives and courtyards do more work per square metre than any room in the house. Notes on compression, release and the four beats of a good arrival.14 July 2026Read →Stone First: Why Every House Starts in the QuarryStone First: Why Every House Starts in the QuarryBefore a single plan is drawn, we walk the quarry. Vein direction, bed height and weathering decide the facade — not the other way round.14 June 2026Read →Water as Plan: Organising a Villa Around Its PoolWater as Plan: Organising a Villa Around Its PoolOn the Dune Villa, a 25-metre lap pool does the job of corridors, axes and arrival sequences — every suite faces water before it faces another room.2 April 2026Read →Designing for Quiet: Interiors That Hold SilenceDesigning for Quiet: Interiors That Hold SilenceSilence is specified like a finish: isolated screeds, lined party walls, sealed rebates. Notes from the Monaco penthouse refit.20 January 2026Read →Building from Site Soil: Rammed Earth on the NajdBuilding from Site Soil: Rammed Earth on the NajdSoil testing showed the Riyadh plot could literally become its own walls. Six-hundred millimetres of rammed earth, made on site.8 October 2025Read →Glass in the Snow: Triple Glazing at 2,400 MetresGlass in the Snow: Triple Glazing at 2,400 MetresA great room with the forest on three sides, at four metres of design snow. How the Glass Pavilion stays warm behind 3.6 metres of glass.17 August 2025Read →