Building on a Sloping Site: Liability or the Architect’s Gift
Building a house on a sloping site costs less in land but needs retaining walls, drainage and a stepped foundation. Real numbers and what relief gives…
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Articles
Notes from the studio practice: architecture and façades, interiors and materials, grounds, money and world trends.
10 Red Flags in a Building Plot: When to Walk Away
Power line corridors, flood zones, peat, disputed boundaries: ten red flags that make an architect advise against a plot. What to check before the deposit.
Rublyovka or Novaya Riga: Where to Build Your House
Rublyovka or Novaya Riga: an architect compares the two directions — forest and terrain versus open fields, roads, settlement codes, land prices and what you can…
The Best Villages on Rublyovka: Where to Build Your House
The best villages on Rublyovka through an architect eye: Barvikha, Zhukovka, Sady Mayendorf. Buildable footprint, design codes, protection zones, land prices.
How to Choose Land for a House: An Architect’s Checklist
An architect's checklist on how to choose land for building a house: buildable footprint, soil, groundwater, grid capacity, trees and the mistakes buyers make.
Materials That Age Well: Designing for Patina
Patina in interiors is a material property you design for: unlacquered brass, pre-patinated copper, corten, limestone and oiled oak, and how to specify them.
Bespoke Furniture for a Country House: Brand or Your Own Joiner
A named factory or bespoke joinery: lead times, the real cost per linear metre, serviceability, and what to hand a brand versus build for your own…
Decorative Garden Pond: Living Water or a Costly Mistake
A decorative garden pond on a country estate: what it really costs to build and to run each year, wintering depth, bio-plateau, EPDM versus bentonite.
Designed for a Collection: Walls and Light Built for Fine Art
Art lighting in interiors by museum numbers: 150 lux, CRI 90+, a 30-degree beam, 40–55% humidity, wall blocking and gallery rails. How walls are designed for…
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