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A couple of years ago now, pre-blog, there came a book by Paul Kingsnorth called ‘Real England’. I will restrain myself and stop just short, perhaps over cautiously, of saying ‘this book changed my life’. However, I do think it has that potential and I found it tremendously inspiring. A look, at once hopeful and […]
March 29, 2010
This weekend brought the first outdoor climb of the year for me. It was damp, gloomy and fantastic. It was so good to be climbing outdoors again, emerging from hibernation. We were up early, on the train, out of London and cycling along country roads before the day’s motorised traffic had established its hold on […]
March 29, 2010
As I effortlessly ramble past the three thousand word mark, I wonder, what is this blog? Three thousand may not be many words, especially over three months, but it struck me as a milestone as it matches the longest essay I have written to date. I see Occasionally Architectural finding it’s identity as a record […]
March 25, 2010
Dry stone walls are a familiar sight to almost all of us, whether we live among them or associate them with perceptions of place or time, we are certainly aware of their existence. Although most of the walls we see today date back to the 18th or 19thcentury and the establishment of enclosure acts and […]
March 21, 2010
When analysing mud building, the fact that the construction footprint (including transport of materials) is little bigger than the footprint of the site itself is surely the pinnacle of sustainable construction. In Djenné the buildings are predominantly flat roofed, wooden beams spanning the mud walls, covered with mud. With the source of wood being the […]
March 20, 2010
Djenné (jen-nay) is a settlement in the West African country of Mali. Situated on the river Niger, which provides both life and constraints. Every year the river floods, something that is an integral part of the town’s yearly eco-cycle. Djenné is positioned in such a way that when the river does flood it becomes almost […]
March 18, 2010
Saturday night. I’m in a pub with friends. The figure opposite me is adorned with The Uniform. Checked shirt, beard (optional), Buddy Holly/’Art house’ glasses. My companion writes plays for a living and I know that he is intelligent and rational, yet he appears obliviously comfortable in his ironic uniform. Before I go any further […]
March 9, 2010
The current exhibition celebrating Gothic architecture and early photography at the V&A is tucked away in the usual spot for ‘architecture’ exhibitions, just off the main architecture/model room. The space gives the impression of a casual side thought but the work stands up for itself and I thought it to be a little gem of […]
March 3, 2010
Last night I attended a talk by Paul Oliver at the RIBA that is part of the most exciting talk series I have seen there for a long time; The Art of Mud Building. The talk, ‘Down to Earth’, was quite general, a kind of overview, mainly based around West African countries and the information […]
Occasionally Architectural 
March 31, 2010
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