Library
Every good novel is woven around a central idea, a question, the answer revealed by the reader. Similarly, every space I design starts with a concept, perhaps revealed as you walk around a space. My book shelves are stacked with books I’ve fallen into, ideas sometimes reappearing years later. Here are some of my favourites.
In Praise of Shadows
Junchiro Tanzinaki
A deep dive into the beauty of natural light and shadow. At one point we discussed the forge being lit only by natural light and flickering candle light, so that the space changed from moment to moment with the day and the seasons. That space is still the most intimate we created at Middleton Lodge.
The Poetics of Space
Gaston Bachelard
The poetics of space - I remember reading this at architecture school and it spoke to me, memories of hide and seek in small places - coming back in the reading nooks and bunkbeds I have designed over the years
Undesign + Wabi-Sabi
Leonard Koren
Undesigning the Bath (sadly now out of print) was the foundation of the Forest Spa - unpicking the way architecture has been made just because people wanted it so. Koren’s later books on Wabi Sabi have also formulated much of my design thinking, particularly when working with natural materials such as Tadelakt, polished plaster, natural stone and aging wood.
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