I was saddened to hear about the death of
Kathryn Findlay last
week, a renowned
Scottish architect who I once had the pleasure of meeting. I dug
out my well-thumbed book about organic architecture which features a number of
the fabulous houses by Ushida Findlay, such as the Soft & Hairy house. Back
in 2000, in my capacity as Landscape Architect, I was asked to comment on the high
profile planning application for
Grafton Hall in Cheshire. I remember being a
bit tongue-tied, in awe of the design, the architect and the whole situation –
how wonderful it must be to have the freedom to design such fabulous forms. The
building was designed to be part of the landscape and the visual impact so
minimal that the sort of comments I would usually make were irrelevant – what could
I possibly say? The development was approved, but I believe a traditional manor
house has been built instead. I didn’t know then that I’d be involved in
building my own house one day – the budget hasn’t allowed for such an ambitious
design but the process is an exciting one. In fact it has all started to happen
this week – busy, busy, busy and not much painting!
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| New Grafton Hall - from www.ushida-findlay.com |
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| Soft & Hairy House - from www.ushida-findlay.com |
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