From a The Guardian online article:
A new almshouse movement, advocated by some experts, builds on a way of living dating back to the 10th century. Almshouses provide sheltered but independent housing, often around a central courtyard, at affordable rents. Many offer social activities, on-site maintenance and – crucially – links with external groups.
The housing industry should “focus on building communities made up of homes for rent that will meet the needs of all demographics and not just the 25- to 35-year-olds whose faces often adorn modern development hoardings.”
(Ken) Worpole has been involved with the development of a new almshouse in Bermondsey, south London, for United St Saviour’s, a 500-year-old charity. Construction is due to begin next spring and completed by the autumn of 2021.
Read more from Ken Worpole: https://www.eur.nl/sites/corporate/files/2018-06/KW.Rotterdam.2017.pdf
The project, says Worpole, “seeks to actively retain longstanding entanglement of residents with the life of the neighbourhood, old friendships, local parks, libraries, shops and social activities. It is open to the world and still part of everyday life.”
The site of the new homes is on a busy high street, and designed to be accessible to the general public. A glass-fronted “community lounge” will be available to local groups.
To read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/27/ageing-britain-housing-crisis-build-almshouses
Legendary entertainer Julie Andrews will receive the American Film Institute’s lifetime achievement award in 2020. In addition to her theatrical career, Andrews has published more than 30 children’s books with one of her daughters, writer and arts educator Emma Walton Hamilton. John Yang sits down with Andrews and Hamilton to discuss how the star focused on family even during her Hollywood heyday.
The so-called winning of the West is one of the fundamental dramas in American history, and Mr. Brands makes the most of his subject by quoting extensively from the participants’ own accounts. In his chapters on Lewis and Clark, he cites the explorers’ descriptions of the daunting cataracts on the Missouri and Columbia rivers and their reaction on reaching their goal.
James McElhinney: Discover the Hudson Anew presents the painter’s sketch books and prints related to the River in a comprehensive showing for the first time. A video program, animating turning pages, will allow visitors to see additional sketchbook paintings. McElhinney says he wants his art to demonstrate “that constructive dialogue between humanity and nature is alive and well, while underscoring how art provides durable and dynamic modes of engagement.”