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Looking forward to the past
This week’s Iconic Buildings on Radio National’s Blueprint for Living highlights the wonder of Chartres cathedral (see here). I mention the recent contentious restoration of its internal painted walls...
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Sugar cubes in Bordeaux
When I was a student I bought a little book called “Lived-in Architecture: Le Corbusier’s Pessac revisited” by Philippe Boudon. Published in 1969, it studied the 1920s housing estate that Le Corbusier...
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A postscript to Pessac
Following my recent piece on Le Corbusier’s housing development at Pessac, Sugarcubes in Bordeaux. I was delighted to receive an email from Monsieur Clocheau, the kind man who showed me around his own...
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Seeking the chi in China
I was working as an interior designer in London in the 1980s when I first heard about the Chinese practice called feng shui that appraises a building to find if it is a beneficial place in which to...
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War, what is it good for?
If there’s one thing that Australia does really well then it’s war memorials. Each one in the state capitals is appropriately impressive and solemn – the Art Deco wonder of Sydney’s with its...
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Paris November 2015
Nothing baffles the schemes of evil people so much as the calm composure of great souls. Comte de MirabeauFiled under: Other Tagged: Paris
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The frabjous joy of words
So I’m strolling along the path beside the sea this morning, gazing at the surf and wondering if I will see dolphins, thinking I’ll pick up a lettuce on the way home, but I’m aware of something else...
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Treading water
This morning I woke early, my mind awash with thoughts, and so I decided to go for a walk by the sea. It’s the best time to go, especially on summer days when the temperature tops 30˚C and the UV...
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For the love of concrete!
I wonder if it’s natural to hold affection for the buildings that were constructed in your youth. For me, as a teenager in the ‘70s, that was concrete and the aptly-named Brutalism. Or at least the...
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Anxiously reaching for the sky
Recently I recorded a programme for Radio National on the future of skyscrapers (podcast here, article here). Researching the subject I kept confronting my own feelings about skyscrapers. I interviewed...
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The bland leading the bland
I’ve just finished re-reading a magnificent book that was written by architect Robin Boyd and first published in 1960. I think it should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in Australia because...
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Cut down to size
This morning the usual peace and quiet of my suburban street was shattered by the sound of a chainsaw. A street tree was being removed. It was not a great tree – a eucalypt of some sort, which was...
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My new novel: Loving Le Corbusier
I’m thrilled to announce the release of my novel, Loving Le Corbusier. Yvonne in the late 1920s The novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Yvonne Gallis, the woman from Monaco who became the...
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‘Loving Le Corbusier’ update
I just wanted to let you know that my novel ‘Loving Le Corbusier’ is now available across all the ebookstore sites from today. (I know that many people prefer to use iTunes to download books to their...
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A moment’s pause…
The period after a novel’s release is sometimes as fraught as the lead-up, but in an entirely different way. It’s nearly two weeks since my novel Loving Le Corbusier made its debut and I’d forgotten...
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Q&A WITH WRITER COLIN BISSET
Some great questions from writer Victoria Blake, following on from her very generous review. Check out Victoria’s own books, which range from personal family history to bone-chilling murders… victoria...
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In the shadow of Le Corbusier
It’s easy to forget that most architects head a team. In the case of Le Corbusier, much of his work was completed in partnership with his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and yet Pierre’s name is often...
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Loving Le Corbusier, among friends
I just had to share this photo. It shows a jokily mocked-up hard copy of my novel Loving Le Corbusier sitting proudly on the roof terrace of one of Le Corbusier’s beautiful houses in the Cité Frugès at...
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A tour of Le Corbusier’s home
If you’re curious to see what the home of Le Corbusier was like, I’ve put together a slide-show on YouTube to show the apartment he built at the edge of Paris, at 24 Rue Nungesser et Coli, or 24NC as...
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The year of Le Corbusier
I’m aware that this site is beginning to look like one dedicated only to Le Corbusier but you must allow another post to celebrate the news that UNESCO has added 17 of Le Corbusier’s buildings to its...
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