Right location but doesn’t fit?

You’ve found a house on Rightmove. Close to shops, station and school.  But that cooking eating viewing space is still two rooms.  Or maybe it lacks street presence. I have helped buyers visualise potential before commitment. Or provided insight into limitations. So your offer can reflect reality. With real knowledge about feasibility.  Can  it be tailored to fit? How much will that cost? Or with a little fee outlay….you can avoid a disappointing buy costing you much more.

House for sale? Consider a re-model first.

You might be expecting a new baby. Or maybe mum or dad has come to stay? Need extra space for a home office? Too much clutter? Don’t put up your house for sale yet. First ask an architect. I am the objective viewpoint. I may be see opportunities you can’t. They could be ways to get more out of existing floor space. Or they could be ways to extend. Even a small extension can mean you don’t have to put your house for sale. Spending is tightly controlled. Within my work shop. I use a simple cost reckoner to estimate costs on the day. Or I can bring in a quantity surveyor. This means we balance cost and outcome. The result is best value for you.

Oak framed entrance, Wilmslow.

You know best! The Workshop test.

No one knows your own house better than you. This means you know if it fits or not.  Another house may seem tempting. But how will your family use it? The answer is you won’t really know ’til you move in. It will take time to get to know it. Then you may find it doesn’t fit as well as you hope! But then it’s too late. You can return your house for sale. But not without a lot of extra cost. Because it’s not like  a mail order shirt you can post back! So use what you know about your home wisely. It’s an architect’s brief. Instead of a house for sale make your house our project. Our work together may release hidden potential. Or for the modest workshop fee we may conclude you’re right to move.

Remodelled home.

The Japanese House Barbican Exhibition

……………………….Special influences shape the house in Japan since world war two. They stand out from influences on architecture common to all countries. They are:- 1. The desire for a distinct family home. 2. Lack of land which can be developed economically. 3. A big population. 4. Mass post-war rehousing need.  5. Historical house design. 6. Traditional skills in timber construction. 7. Earthquake risk. 8. The Modern Movement.

Multi Media Cultural Feast

The Barbican’s tea house by Terunobu Fujimori. The black cladding is charred wood. The light sphere is suspended in netting as if the moon has been caught in the sea. Visitors enter from below through a trap door on a ladder. Shoes off!

The Barbican exhibition “The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945” s0 entertaining. And deeply informative. Sponsored by:-

Kajima

The Japan Centre

Shiseido

Natrium Capital

The exhibition detailed these special influences. Then showed their effect on houses and neighbourhoods. So we learn the effect of them individually and combined. Film, sound, photographs, scale models and animation. Highlights are spectacular. Firstly the full size recreation of the Morijama House in Tokyo.  Secondly an inventive new tea house. It was created by Terunobu Fujimori. He designed it especially for this exhibition. In summary this was an event for all. Not just for architects or designers. And even for children. For example the PG film screening on June 24th:-  “The Japanese House : Only Yesterday”. Finally you can still study rich intellectual content in the excellent catalogue. I am very grateful for both this primary source. And to all who created such a rewarding cultural experience.

Reconstruction of Ryue Nishizawa’s house for Mr Moriyama, 2005. This is a metaphor for the city. Instead of urban blocks defined by streets individual living functions are accommodated in single building envelopes with external living spaces between them. An innovative de-construction for an enlightened client. He now has a setting for his creative life-style of contemplation.

Recyclables are thermal insulation!

The View from Shinkanshen

The desire for a distinct family residence. This means you will not find many high rise towers. Sprawling apartment blocks are few. Instead you see tight clusters of two and three storey houses. They carpet precious flat land. Competing for it with transport, offices, farms and factories.

High housing density follows from two facts.  Firstly a lack of easily developed land. Secondly a big population. Much of Japan is mountainous. Therefore the thin coastal plain is totally developed. Never far from a railway, all land uses jostle each-other. So journeys to work are short. In a Tokyo address like Shibuya this means few open spaces. And narrow plots. The house is stacked like furniture.

Post War Re-Surgence

Half of Tokyo burns in the war costing Japan 4.2m homes. Therefore post war housing needs were urgent and intense. Low cost, fast construction both essential. The result was pre-fabricated systems made industrially. For example the modular PREMOS house. You could buy a Panasonic house. Or a Toyota. And recently a Muji branded one. Kurokawa’s Nakajin tower of capsules is the most extreme example.

Kisho Kurokawa’s Capsule Tower, Nakagin, 1972.

Half Timbered Semis?

Architects are often inspired by past designs for the house. “Half timbered” semis in England are dwarf country houses. Homes of the Japanese nobility are also a reference. Kenzo Tange looks back to the shinden-zukuri style. But Shirai follows the rustic minka alternative instead.

House by Kenzo Tange, Setagaya, Tokyo, 1953. Reminiscent of Villa Savoie?

The Modern Movement ideals of transparency and open plans seem to fit easily into Japanese traditions. The large scale of a Japanese mansion. Or the slender timber structure and walls of a farm house. Both can easily appear “Modern”. Czech architect Antonin Raymond fuses “Japanese” and “Western” spaces.

Concrete Cave

Yoshimira’s mountain lodge uses concrete instead of stone. An earth metaphor. Also timber. Security is easy thanks to its rustic base. The need for a safe calm retreat in cities leads to heavy construction. Security against the crowd and against earthquakes makes concrete an ideal material. Following this choice for building comes a robust appearance. The cave as house is re-invented in cement not stone.

Tower House, Shibuya, Tokyo. The architect Takamitsu Azuma’s own residence. Board marked concrete and loose fit furniture.

Mountain Lodge A, Karuizawa, 1963. Junzo Yoshimura designs in the timber tradition and uses mass reinforced concrete instead of stone.

People are talking about this tranquil oasis.

Button Warehouse is a vegan wholefood cafe in Macclesfield. Discover its special character located in the centre of town. As you walk along Chestergate look underneath the red signs of Amplifon for Aspinwall Court. Enter this 18th century passage leading to the Button Warehouse. Denise Oakes says her Facebook friends like it. She told me. Therefore Nora and I checked in there last Monday.  Consequently we’ve put it on the radar of Macclesfield fitness and nutrition guru The Caffeinated Nutritionist, Kendalle Gidion. We discovered a unique interior, warm welcome and tasty food.

Wholesome & different

Proprietor Joe’s distinctive ingredients are remarkable. Not just because they are fresh and free of additives. How to follow my generous plate of rye bread, hummus and cucumber? The answer is a coconut tray bake with Agave nectar! Therefore his ingredients seem innovative to me.  Joe tells me the Agave plant is also used for Tequila. So it’s both a novel source of intense sweetness. And gives us a famous drink! Nora chose the carrot soup. Rich and colourful with a big helping of fresh bread. Organic ginger beer for her. Green tea for me. And all served with a smile.

Events at the Button Warehouse.

Food culture is not the only celebration here. Also you’ll find cultural events. Examples include live music, society meetings, films and therapies. And reflexologist Emma Sarielle Hopkins operates upstairs. Further Macc Laugh’s monthly comedy night  was hosted on Thursday  20th.

Perfect?

Bored by the perfect branded interior? There are predictable high street regulars. You know who I’m talking about. Compared to the usual suspects The Button Warehouse is not perfect. Rather it’s a carefree collage of natural colours and textures. It’s brand image is unique because the orginal building is exposed. You can touch stone work 150 years old.

Wabi

The Button Warehouse reminds me about a Japanese philosophy. Firstly “wabi”. Meaning the beauty of imperfection. A good example is the texture of a rustic loaf. Compare it to the bland whiteness of standard white bread. An example here is the structure. Chunky columns such as these are often designed-out. Because this increases table space. But here they are the cheap and cheeful solution.  Seems like they add more character.

Sabi

Secondly “sabi”. This is about the effects of time. As a result of sabi we learn to love aging.  So older wine is valued above the younger vintage. Especially relevant is the flooring. Timber will wear more between tables. But that’s just a sign of use and therefore of humanity. Don’t we all have to accept our human frailties? The Button Warehouse is probably not the cheapest cafe in Macclesfield. But it almost certainly the most nourishing. Find out more at the Button Warehouse website.

This bride and groom are celebrating in Kyoto, 6000 miles from Macclesfield, but we are united under Nature’s floral canopy!

Ok it sounds cheesy I know but this is such a light-hearted image! Shot on my tour to Japan. A long way from Macclesfield. Architecturally rich. Such a happy time at stepson Dan and Ikumi’s wedding in Hiroshima. In cities and towns like London and Macclesfield we are used to space. Parks and squares are taken for granted. But these are rare in Tokyo. The ultimate example of Japan’s land use. Manufacturing, agriculture and living is packed onto narrow coastal plains. They are squeezed up to the coast by mountains.

This is Ikumi’s parent’s showroom in Yoshiwa. A town in the mountains above Hiroshima. Mum and Dad, Uemoto-San and Oku-San, run a business growing Wasabi. This is a super hot version of horse radish. Bright green!  Eaten with soy sauce with most dishes, especially sushi and sashimi. Both uncooked fish. This interior cannot yet be found in Macclesfield. But the sunken table with central inlaid hearth. The translucent paper windows. The subtle change in level. The excellent joinery…..All to be imported by this architect to Macclesfield.

Macclesfield is a friendly town. But so were Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima and Kyoto. I couldn’t find  my hotel. So I ask in a cafe. An english speaking customer says Hi! Next I am in his porsche being taken there! Thank you Yoshikatsu San! Yoshi’s English is excellent, part of his success in California. Just back from filming a commercial for Toyota. Our languages are very different. But Japan’s railway system is bi-lingual. So a trip on the 180mph Shinkansen is easily booked. Like flying but with bustling towns and wooded hills flashing by! On a japanese express Macclesfield to Euston would take an hour. Quicker than the road commute to from Macclesfield to Manchester!

Thank you for googling architects macclesfield?! I am working on  interesting projects in Macclesfield, Prestbury, Wilmslow, Gawsworth and Sale. Just email to find out more.