Shadowplay

http://www.draculas.info/dictionary/definition_of_nospheratu-16/

If every book needs an opening para which hooks the reader in, then every blog requires a striking picture. I thought that posted above abundantly 'fit for purpose'.

When viewing the videos below I had a niggling feeling of familiarity; then it came to me.

There of COURSE any resemblance ends as I couldn't POSSIBLY compare the movie of architect Malcolm Fraser giving a lecture to council members and planners of Edinburgh with the 1922 movie Nosferatu  (although the latter possibly had higher production values) and naturally I have not increased the household supplies of garlic to any significant extent. No sireee.

Image courtesy of www.sporeflections.wordpress.com


Thought these needed wider publicity as in the main a great deal of what Malcolm says I agree with (and vice versa?)  and mostly have touched on (see selection below*) in this 'ere blog before:

• the madness of VAT inequality on zero rated new build v repair/re-use, which attracts the full 20% ;

• the infuriating barminess and loss of industrial & transport heritage of the permission given for demolition of the Cat B listed Madelvic factory in Granton by the City of Edinburgh Council, which could & should have been re-used;

• sustainability not always about high tech solutions which are complex, off putting for many, and may not recoup the outlay;  see Scottish Housing Expo posts, also the MFA 'people's choice' winning house design (you read it here first...). Sustainable design should be big on re-use of what we have, excellent insulation, natural ventilation, and use of sustainable materials (another plug for  timber & zinc);

• architects should be designing for the 21st century without recourse to slavish copies of the past, with sensitivity to context;

...and no doubt other stuff besides (RMJM, and er.. RMJM... oh and Mr Duany...)


The Whitecross development, winner of the recent government Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative competition, which Malcolm Fraser Architects won, against stiff opposition, was the reason for this lecture, though Malcolm clearly took the opportunity of a captive audience for a wee rant (I mean that in a good way) about a number of issues.

http://www.malcolmfraser.co.uk/projects/?contentid=415&parentid=251

I hope those attending listened.

So here it is! Malcolm Fraser: The Movie (in three parts, so you can have an ice cream AND a popcorn break):










*Here's that staircase scene from 1922:




Most  of the movie is here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcyzubFvBsA


Enjoy!

Nem

*
http://www.malcolmfraser.co.uk/

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2010/05/angry-men-crap-housing-our-cash-vat.html

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2010/02/elizabeth-pascoe-is-finally-evicted.html

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2010/01/seeing-red.html

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2010/04/dont-destroy-madelvic-factory.html

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2010/08/scottish-housing-expo-2010-inverness.html

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2010/10/sustainable-housing-sustainable.html

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2009/12/old-new-towns-new-old-towns.html

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2010/09/duanyising-britain.html

Scottish Housing Expo 2010 Inverness

 The planned but so far not executed 'garden' of one of Malcolm Fraser Architects designs for the 2010 Scottish Housing Expo, Inverness. 'Minimalist'? Certainly is! Doesn't so far exist... although the accompanying houses do. Not all houses at the Expo are completed or even as yet built. Plots 22 and 27, which, while not perfect,  are at least amongst those which could actually sensibly be lived in by real people, and be attractive to 'volume' developers,  although without the architectural pretension of some.  The unfinished garden is a victim of, and possibly a metaphor for, the Expo problems.  Click pics to enlarge... a second click will enlarge even further, but use the 'back' button to get back to the page or you will lose the post.

Details:
http://www.scotlandshousingexpo.com/index.php

Pictures:
http://www.scotlandshousingexpo.com/plot_updates.php


http://ht.ly/2vUNc


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=198911&id=164636957634&l=973ac1125e

This week, I visited the Scottish Housing Expo, aka the Highland Housing Expo, Inverness.  It was a bizarre experience. I have no doubt in years to come it all will be Listed by Historic Scotland, and visited as Portmerion is as something slightly surreal. Certainly it is a very unsettlingly strange place indeed. What is worrying is that some think it all a great success, and are considering repeating this all over Scotland. It's no way to plan for the future...




I would love to take a number of the architects involved through their buildings, and point out exactly what would make them difficult/impossible/improbable/greenwashery /unsustainable to live in. If I really had to, there is only a handful of houses I would be willing move into. Maybe I will blog more when it isn't so raw and immediate and actually, upsetting. Next week possibly...  I might be a little more coherent about it then. And by then some architects might have realised that a house where a scaffold tower is needed to change a lightbulb isn't really very practical. One 'grand gesture' house, with its upstairs all-in-one kitchen/dining/living area, too small to sensibly accommodate the number of people a four bedroomed house will require, appeared to have nowhere to put a washing machine. There were kitchens without enough workspace to sensibly prepare a meal and some which would have been dangerous to work in. From the macro to the micro level, so much could have been better.

I so wanted to find this a positive experience. I didn't. I do appreciate all the problems, the delays caused by the market downturn, the terrible winter, and all the rest.  How I wish I could get a group of non-architect folk to sit with  some of the architects and developers and discuss what makes a home for normal families which isn't 'wanky wilful shapemaking' to paraphrase one involved, what is a decent amount of space in which to live, and what makes for an affordable, sustainable future. I would love to talk to the  Scottish Housing Minister  and do likewise. I do appreciate that architects had a brief to which to work, and that all have constraints. But hey, couldn't we all learn from this?

I'd also love to be able to write about it all in the architectural press, but alas I doubt anyone will ask me.  So far very little attention has been paid, apart from Building Design, and of that, well, it's been a little banal and focused not really on the diverse and important issues this has raised. 

A few architects, from the renowned to the 'local', showed they had some idea. However, from the possibly internationally known to the emerging and thrusting, and the small and established but not nationally known, too few understood what makes a home, as opposed to an architectural gesture, and what is really sensibly, affordably sustainable.

And then there were the Rabbit Hutches...  it seems the less well off don't deserve decent living space. An atrium and a mezzanine may give the illusion of space, but don't compensate for tiny rooms, especially bedrooms.

Parker-Morris, we need you now.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Morris_Committee

Large areas of glass, too, featured in rooms which were overlooked... as one visitor remarked,  "Some of these architects must have shares in a curtain factory!"

Anyhow, the Expo ends at the end of August. Wish I had taken two days to visit as there wasn't enough time in one. The cake in the marquee was wonderful. The Portaloos were clean and more than adequate.

But it's Scotland, so really, in the wider world, no-one gives a fuck. The architectural press is all off at the Venice Biennale, and that's much more exciting and important than global warming and the future of housing, isn't it? Had this taken place in the south of England, so much would have been written about it, but it was Inverness, and beyond Nottingham Contemporary all is a barren waste, it seems, where none dare to venture.

Meanwhile, some views on youtube of the exteriors of some, and very odd bunch they are, lumped together, but let's face it: we mostly live in interiors. And there lies much of the problem.

The first tranche of houses for sale prices:

http://www.scotlandshousingexpo.com/houses.php

For private sale plots: 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27 contact


Rettie & Co on tel: 0845 220 6565 or email: scotlandshousingexpo@rettie.co.uk

or visit www.highlandhousingalliance.com/expo

Plot 7 – Guide Price £ 300,000


Plot 9.2 – Guide Price £ 220,000


Plot 17 – Offers Over £ 300,000


Plot 18 – Offers Over £ 350,000


Plot 26.1 – Guide Price £ 230,000

 I leave the reader to work out how affordable this is to many, and if this Expo served the needs of the public and a sustainable future, or was more about the architects and developers.  It's certainly going to be a 'mixed' community, when and if the houses and flats are eventually fully occupied; it remains to be seen if it ever becomes a genuine community.


(movies by Abbozzo Architects)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz1H5E0tuW8



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFyrzFwcjMA&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdhK6DazFA4&feature=related


Nem

The Deserted Village

Polphail: RCAHMS, Dictionary of Scottish Architects and the Buildings of Scotland guide use the alternative name Portavadie (or Pollphail): BoS guide (Argyll & Bute) entry is on page 432: architect was Thomas Smith, Gibb & Pate, built 1975-77

There is a poignancy about abandoned villages, places where communities once thrived, yet, for varying historical reasons, from where the residents have departed never to return. Many of the buildings they left have long since quietly slipped back into the landscape leaving only ghost traces and a mark on OS maps. Some were sunk under grandiose water schemes such as at Kielder (and at very low water the remains of buildings resurfaced once again recently):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielder_Water

Certain others were victims of erosion, as at Dunwich, or people were evicted by the varying needs and greeds of landowners, and even war requisitioning, as at Imber:

http://www.foreverimber.org.uk/

http://www.public-interest.co.uk/imber/

where the church of St Giles is cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust (and which sadly, through the needs of military training for wars we are still fighting, will not be open Easter 2010):

http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/findachurch/st-giles-imber/?region=Wiltshire

There's a fascinating new website here:

http://www.abandonedcommunities.co.uk/index.html

with a great deal of information and further links; it's worth reading through the

Places

More Places

Still More Places

Even More Places

links.

Readers are invited to get in touch with comments, queries, and suggestions. This website will be revised from time to time, and you may be able to influence the direction in which it goes.

Stephen Fisk
26 January 2010

There are sections on poetry (from where I took this blog title of course, Oliver Goldsmith*) :

http://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/Classic%20Poems/Goldsmith/the_deserted_village.htm

and paintings,  inspired by the theme.

Here's WH Davies 

The Forsaken Dead

What tyrant starved the living out, and kept
Their dead in this deserted settlement?
There is no voice at home, no eyes to look
Down from their windows on these gardens wild;
A tyrant hath refused his people work,
Since they had claimed a right to share his spoils,
And they have left their dead forsaken here.
Here will I sit upon this fallen tree,
Beside these ancient ruins, ivy-crowned,
Where Nature makes green mosses ooze and spread
Out of the pores of their decaying walls ―
Here will I sit to mourn that people gone.
Where are they gone that there's no maiden left
To weep the fall of this sweet village lost,
Down where its waters pass the empty mills?
No living thing except one tethered lamb,
That hath been crying full an hour in vain,
And, on that green where children played their games,
Hath browsed his circle bare, and bleats to see
More dewy pastures all beyond his reach.
Where is maid Margaret, whom I saw crowned
Queen of the May before so many eyes?
And scornful Maud, of her rare beauty proud ―
That cruel rose bud, with her close hard heart,
Between whose folds no mercy drop could lodge:
And where the men who threw the hammer's weight,
And leapt this common but three moons ago
When unto heaven they sent a deafening shout
Like wild Pacific, when he leaps and falls
At Raratonga, off a coral reef:
Then, in Life's glorious deep they swam and laughed,
And felt no nameless substance touch their limbs
To make them sick with dread of things unseen.
Some other tyrant, in some other shire,
Will drive his people forth, and they will come
Hither, to be this other tyrant's slaves.
Then back, ye famished strangers, or haste on:
There is no joy here, save in one short change;
Be warned to see these dead forsaken here.
Had they no dreamer here who might remain
To sing for them these desolated scenes?
One who might on a starvèd body take
Strong flights beyond the fiery larks in song,
With awful music, passionate with hate?
Were I that bard, and that poor people mine,
I would make strangers curse that tyrant's day:
Would call on Sleep, compeller of strange dreams,
Who leads the unbeliever to the Heaven he doubts,
And makes a false one fear the Hell he scorns –
Would call on Sleep to bring him ghastly dreams,
And haunt that tyrant's night without repose.


and Anthony Thwaite

At Dunwich

Fifteen churches lie here
Under the North Sea;
Forty-five years ago
The last went down the cliff.
You can see, at low tide,
A mound of masonry
Chewed like a damp bun.

In the village now (if you call
Dunwich a village now,
With a handful of houses, one street,
And a shack for Tizer and tea)
You can ask an old man
To show you the stuff they've found
On the beach when there's been a storm:

Knife-blades, buckles and rings,
Enough coins to fill an old sock,
Badges that men wore
When they'd been on a pilgrimage.
Armfuls of broken pots.
People cut bread, paid cash,
Buttoned up against the cold.

Fifteen churches, and men
In thousands working at looms,
And wives brewing up stews
In great grey cooking pots.
I put out a hand and pull
A sherd from the cliff's jaws.
The sand trickles, then falls.

Nettles grow on the cliffs
In clumps as high as a house.
The houses have gone away.
Stand and look at the sea
Eating the land as it walks
Steadily treading the tops
Of fifteen churches' spires.

http://www.visit-suffolkcoast.co.uk/history/dunwich-ancient-city-sleepy-suffolk-village

Here's an excellent Wiki page on the subject:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandoned_village

Yet what about an entire village which was never actually occupied? For there is such, Polphail in Scotland.

Polphail was built in the 1970s to house construction workers for a nearby oil platform; however, the platform was never built, the buildings never occupied, and they have stood abandoned since. There have been schemes to use the buildings which have come to nought, and I understand that demolition and redevelopment is now planned.

There's an informative short BBC news film here, detailing the history and the new plans for Polphail:

http://vodpod.com/watch/1828841-polphail-redevelopment-for-ghost-village

and a comprehensive Secret Scotland wiki page, with links, photographs and information:

http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/Polphail

Before all vanishes however, and is truly 'lost' forever, an arts project took place at Polphail

In pictures: Graffiti artists transform Scottish ghost town Polphaill

15 October 2009
By Jackie Hunter

IT'S HARD to imagine that six graffiti artists armed with ladders, brushes and gallons of paint would find a warm welcome in the hills of rural Argyll after stating their intent to transform the appearance of a tiny village overlooking Loch Fyne.

But if that village was a Brutalist concrete dump then perhaps you'd see why the presence of Derm, Rough (aka Remi), Timid, Stormy, System and Juice126 invoked a surprisingly positive response among locals and passers-by who saw them decorating the grey walls of Polphaill over the weekend.

Three months ago two of the six well-established artists – known collectively as Agents of Change – saw a BBC news report about Polphaill, known as the Ghost Village. It was built in the 1970s to house oil-rig construction workers but was never inhabited and later abandoned. It became news when its demolition, due to occur in December, was announced. Timid and Remi knew immediately that they wanted to paint it. But how to make it happen?

Read on, see the photos:

http://living.scotsman.com/features/In-pictures-Graffiti-artists-transform.5734688.jp


Here's the 'teaser' video made by the artists before they set about their work:



and the atmospheric end result:



The Ghostvillage Project was created over 3 days on the west coast of Scotland. 6 artists - Timid, Remi/Rough, System, Stormie Mills, Juice 126, Derm - were given free reign to paint in an abandoned 1970s village. Working together on huge collaborative walls and individually in hidden nooks and crannies all over the site the artists realised long held dreams and were inspired by the bleakness and remoteness of the site. Drawing on the history of the village the artists' stated intent on completion of the project was to populate the ghostvillage with the art and characters that it deserved .

An excellent photoset on Flickr, from where the second pic from top came also:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davemorris/4436334424/in/photostream/

*Vain transitory splendours! Could not all

Reprieve the tottering mansion from its fall!

Nem

PS  see comments. I have been sent these two excellent links:

http://godwickgreatbarn.com/page5.htm

http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/battlezone/battlezoneintro.htm

Up in the air

Apologies people for short blog, a family emergency occurred this morning and I don't know how things will pan out over the next few days, however I hope to keep this updated. Welcome also Jon and Craig, and thanks for the comments. It's nice to feel I am not alone here.

Interesting stuff in the comments about the Victorian Farm prog from last night, if you wish to really live life in the raw it seems you can stay in the cottage:

http://www.actonscott.com/henleycottage.php

although as it seems about like life chez Nem (even slightly more luxurious in fact) I suspect I will save the cash and stay at home.

Possibly we should have paying guests who wish to sample the simple life, flagstones, pantry and all? They could sleep in the bothy and work in the garden?

Some sort of good news on the conservation front:

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=426&storycode=3130981&c=1

However, the reality is slightly more complex, and I could explain in detail but this link does it so why should I?

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=114371

The sad part is how much was bulldozed before SAVE stepped in; thankfully, at least several of the buildings are now protected. The picture above is the interior of one of the historic wind tunnels.

This is a larger version:

http://www.airsciences.org.uk/image24footfan.html

The SAVE report, Save Farnborough, The Cradle of British Aviation, is still available from SAVE publications:

http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/

More:

http://www.airsciences.org.uk/

Short but hopefully of interest?

Nem

STOP PRESS Just arrived, Press Release from SAVE:

TRIUMPH, DISASTER AND DECAY THE SAVE SURVEY OF LIVERPOOL’S HERITAGE

AN EXHIBITION AT THE RIBA GALLERY IN LIVERPOOL FROM 16 FEBRUARY TO 6 MARCH 2009

As Liverpool emerges from its year in the limelight as European Capital of Culture, a new exhibition, mounted by SAVE Britain’s Heritage, takes a sobering look at the state of the city’s architectural heritage. As ever-taller apartment buildings spring up along the waterfront, countless historic buildings are still being left to rot, or demolished in the name of ‘regeneration’.

Less than a hundred years ago, Liverpool was a city of phenomenal wealth - its great dock system one of the wonders of the world. In the wake of World War II, changing patterns of industry and shipping led to steep economic decline, and in the decades that followed, the city’s built heritage was to come under terrible assault. In 1958 the bombed-out shell of one of the city’s finest landmarks, the monumental Custom House, was torn down to ‘relieve unemployment’ and countless Georgian and Victorian terraces were to follow - swept away for new housing estates.

Shockingly, large clearance schemes were to continue into the 1970s and 1980s, with Grade II-listed Clayton Square in the heart of the city demolished in 1986 to make way for a shopping centre. Today, whole terraces of good-quality Victorian houses are being cleared again, for the Edge Lane road-widening project, and for the Government’s Pathfinder housing scheme. In 1984, SAVE’s report The Agony of Georgian Liverpool documented the plight of dozens of Georgian houses. 25 years on, it is sad to report that many of the buildings featured in the report have been demolished, while others still cling on today in a desperate state of decay. Encouragingly, a number of fine inner-city Georgian terraces were saved in the 1980s through refurbishment programmes grant-aided by English Heritage, which more recently has conducted extensive research into Liverpool’s heritage and helped to fund a much-needed Buildings at Risk Officer.

Marcus Binney, SAVE's President says, ‘We have fought two of our most memorable campaigns in Liverpool, first rescuing the beautiful Regency Lyceum Club after consent to demolish had been granted and, second, taking legal action to stop the imminent demolition of the spectacular church of St Francis Xavier’.

This new exhibition will highlight the importance, as well as the vulnerability, of Liverpool’s architectural heritage - drawing attention to the alarming number of historic buildings still at risk in the city, as well as celebrating recent successes. Contemporary and historic photographs will be accompanied by commentary from leading historians, conservation experts and residents of Liverpool. The exhibition will run from 16 February to 6 March at the RIBA Gallery, 82 Wood Street, Liverpool L1 4DQ. It will be open Monday to Friday (9am-5pm), and on Saturday 21 February (11am-5pm). Further info from SAVE: http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/.

Full release including pictures:

http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/docs/articles/liverpool%20SAVE%20expo%20press%20release.pdf

The Merchant of Shepton Mallet

My, how the flames have reached my ears today, see below for some background, and how glad I am I do not live in Salem. Eeeeeeek.

In the garden, the cold weather has meant a large number of tits in a feeding frenzy. Clearly, that is not confined to my garden.

Don't make the elementary mistake I made while searching for an image of birds on google - be specific. Those are great tits in the picture. Try adding 'birds' to the search term.

A great deal of news sent to write about, but so gobsmacked at the vitriol some seem to think acceptable on another site (pots and kettles, citizens? I leave you to decide) that I will today confine myself to a few snippets of information. Possibly I should post a fruitcake recipe too, but I think after Christmas we have all had enough of fruitcakes?

Moving on...

Firstly, I hear that Jon Maine has finally completed the long time repair of the Merchant's House in Shepton Mallet. and Family Maine spent Christmas there. Such good news, a most beautiful and important Grade II* building rescued from dereliction; I leave the website to fill in the background, but I gather Jon is open to offers to come along and work his magic on your own home.

http://www.merchants-house.co.uk/

His recent Open Day, with guest Kevin McCloud off the telly, raised a substantial sum of money for the local hospice. Brilliant.

Courses for the next few months at the glorious Cressing Temple, Essex, which people may wish to consider for some hands-on experience:

http://www.cressingtemple.org.uk/

http://www.cressingtemple.org.uk/Courses/Building.htm

New Year Lectures 2009

Building Recording
9.30am – 12.30pm Wednesday 28th January
Speakers: Andrew Westman, Museum of London and Elphin Watkin, Historic Building Specialist
Good building conservation is dependent on understanding and analysing the fabric of a building. These lectures will look at different methods and approaches, and the standards of documentation required in the planning system. Cost £50.

Historic Lead
9.30am – 12.30pm Wednesday 11th February
Speaker: Dr Peter Rumley, Stephen Bradbury Architects
Good specification is essential to good lead work. This day will look at historic lead, its features and how it can be repaired. Cost £50.

Thatch
9.30am – 12.30pm Wednesday 18th February
Speaker: Keith Quantrill, Thatching Consultant
The session will look at the Essex thatching tradition, and address the practical issues of repair and maintenance, as well as looking at new thatch. It will also consider how to reduce the risk of fire. Cost £50.

Joinery Repair
9.30am – 12.30pm Wednesday 11th March 2009
Speaker: Joe Bispham, Historic Building Specialist
Traditional windows and doors make an important contribution to the appearance of historic buildings and should never be replaced if repair is at all possible. These lectures will look at historic joinery details as well as covering differing approaches to repairs and their specification. Cost £50.

Lime Specification
9.30am – 12.30pm Wednesday 25th March 2009
Speaker: Roy Cafferty, Traditional Lime Plasterer
The return to using lime rather than cement is the most important development of the last few decades in the care of historic buildings. The lectures will discuss the different types of limes, their use in plasters and mortar mixes, and will highlight the importance of preparation and aftercare. Cost £50.

TV tonight

A new series, The Victorian Farm, on BBC2 telly at 9pm, followed by Adam Hart Davis repeat of What the Victorians Did For Us - Steam.

"Watch a new series in which historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn move into a Victorian smallholding on the Acton Scott estate in Shropshire and live the life of Victorian farmers for a year."

No doubt it will all be available on watch again sites if you miss it. I have bottle or three of good ale in and a stack of logs, and will be glued to the TV.

Brewery website of the week (an occasional series):

http://www.bateman.co.uk/

Interesting website with a forum, which looks in needs of a few more posters to me:

http://www.bricksandbrass.co.uk/

Yesterday's comment and picture from Gareth very interesting, indeed I wonder if that is by Boardman? Great similarities.

Do keep in touch. I gather some have had probs posting comments, I HOPE that is resolved but I am very new to finding my way around the Blogger technology. Thank for all the support, I cannot tell you how much it is appreciated.

Nem