In every town and city, whether large or small, you’ll always find small, awkward shaped plots of land that sit between larger development sites. These ‘infill’ plots have generally been considered unusable. The aim of Contain Yourself was to tackle this unavoidable issue with a cost effective, design led approach, whilst also trying to create [...]

Following a recent trip to Nurnberg I find myself reflecting on the quality (or lack of) of new housing in the UK compared to some of our European neighbours. During my short stay in the city I was struck by two things – the clearly evident vernacular style, which has developed over hundreds of years [...]

The  industry of manufacturing building elements off site is expected to rise in popularity, due in particular to the governments drive to cut waste. Something we at the heterarchy design studio have been continuosly interested and involved in, we would welcome this upturn in popularity. Many of our clients will bear witness to the fact [...]

According to a recent report by Knight Frank, the development of new build second homes have been providing the construction sector with some welcome relief during the recession, and will continue to do so through the current economic uncertainty. After a slight decline of 0.4% in 2008 the number of second homes in Britain rose [...]

Since October 1st 2008 there have been some quite significant changes with the Planning Regulations in relation to private dwellings. Classified as ‘permitted development’, the parameters have been broadened to allow more types of work to not require planning permission. With projects such as loft conversions or house extensions, there are now size guidelines, within [...]