Architectural Digest (September 24, 2024): “We just respond creatively to what humanity pushes aside.” Today AD is in Brooklyn, New York to tour a townhouse comprising 18 shipping containers.
Designers Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, founders of LOT-EK, have been using shipping containers in their work for 30 years, becoming pioneers in sustainable architecture.
Comprised of 18 containers from a yard in New Jersey, this townhouse exemplifies how humble materials can be turned into something extraordinary and pave the way for a more sustainable future.
Richard Negus reveals how the ancient art of hedgelaying plays a crucial role in creating countryside highways for British Wildlife.
Playing fast and loose
Matthew Dennison unmasks the tough-talking, gun-toting highwaywomen who brazenly ruled the roads of Britain
US Special
The latest in Stateside luxury on land and sea; Charles Harris Charts the birth of Liberty; Agnes Stamp relives the golden age of transatlantic travel; Charlie Thomas gets his kicks on Route 66; Russell Higham tunes up for Newport and all that jazz; Rosie Paterson checks in on New York hotels; Tom Parker Bowles finds out what’s hot in US food; and Melanie Bryan looks at Country Life across the pond.
The Legacy
Laurence Olivier takes centre stage once more as Kate Green applauds his crucial role in the founding of the National Theatre
Foraging
It’s a magnet for dirt and earwigs, but don’t let that put you off — anyone for cauliflower-fungus cheese, asks John Wright
Love in a dry climate
Kendra Wilson marvels at the innovative design of a desert garden at Ghost Wash in the Paradise Valley, Arizona
The swing of the pendulum
It’s high time we celebrated the golden age of British horology, suggests Huon Mallalieu, as he finds out exactly what made our master clockmakers tick.
A well-resorted tavern
In the first of two articles, Jeremy Musson charts the remarkable history and preservation of Mount Vernon, George Washington’s former home in Virginia
Singing the end-of-summertime blues
A does of digging is just what the doctor ordered for John Lewis-Stempel as he attends to shake off his gloomy mood
Navigating nostalgia
Joseph Phelan is at the tiller for a joyous canal-boat journey — to the Industrial Revolution and back — on Britain’s canal network
Charles Quest-Ritson marvels at Friar Park’s ‘Henley Matterhorn’ in the superb Oxfordshire garden created by the late Beatle George Harrison and his widow, Olivia
How to time travel to spring
Now is the time to plan next year’s colourful garden display. John Hoyland advises what to plant and where for best results
Put a smile on your garden
John Hoyland hails a welcome resurgence in the popularity of pelargoniums, a stalwart that lights up the summer garden
Sing on, sweet bird
The soothing notes of Britain’s thrushes have long provided a reassuring soundtrack to our lives. Mark Cocker tunes in
Bravery beyond belief
As the Royal Humane Society marks its 250th anniversary, Rupert Uloth recounts a host of incredible life-saving feats
‘Without fever there is no creation’
Henrietta Bredin examines how the colourful life of Puccini was reflected in the melodramatic plot lines of his greatest operas
Rachel Podger’s favourite painting
The leading violinist chooses an inspiring, uplifting masterpiece with a beautiful depth of colour
Happiness in small things
The challenges facing female farmers in Africa put life in perspective for Minette Batters
The great indoors
Amelia Thorpe has the pick of planters and accessories to make the most of your houseplants
Civic splendour
John Goodall is heartened by the restoration of St Mary’s Guildhall, a symbol of Coventry’s great 14th-century prosperity
The legacy
Kate Green applauds the work of Sir Arthur Hobhouse, founding father of our national parks
Let’s get to the bottom of this
Is it a blessing or a curse to find a well on your property? Deborah Nicholls-Lee tests the water
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
David Profumo is in his element as he teases Atlantic salmon from Iceland’s low, clear waters
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell turns over a new leaf with autumn-inspired jewellery
Interiors
It’s show time! Amelia Thorpe seeks Design Week inspiration
Get your cob on
Prepare to be amazed by maize as Tom Parker Bowles savours those golden corn kernels in mouth-watering Mexican style
Foraging
Do you know a damson from a bullace? John Wright revels in the plum job of explaining it all
The colour revolution
The 19th-century development of new paints was a green light for artists, finds Michael Prodger
Colour vision
Rob Crossan catches up with the most famous and enduring face of our television screens
The Local Project (July 26, 2024): This home’s design facilitates a rare co-habitation with the forested landscape and represents a balance of modern architecture and the purity of nature. From a distance, Edition Office’s Federal House appears like a shadow nestled into the folding hills of the hinterland, a sharp contrast to the vibrant surrounds.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the Home 00:58 – The Initial Brief 02:11 – A Walkthrough of the Home 03:07 – Shaping Light Through Design 03:30 – The Warm Material Palette 04:01 – A Holistic Experience 04:57 – Thankful Moments
Upon approach, the textures of the exterior convey a distinct dialogue with nature. This home’s design acts to deepen relationships between people and the natural setting and intimately shows the inner machinations of the environment. The brief outlined a home that would act as a sanctuary and elemental respite from the clients’ high-pressure careers. The occupants of Federal House enjoy a relationship with the hillside, forest and grassland at the site’s rear as well as panoramic views over the forested horizon from the heavily inset living-zoned platform and sheltered pool.
A reverberation of settler colonial homesteads of the past, this home’s design inverts the front verandah typology, looking inward to orbit an internal courtyard and present a tightly controlled outer envelope. Federal House’s interior spaces act as an elevated stage, a refuge from which to observe the passing of time through the shifting weather and seasons of the Northern Rivers hinterland. The covered outdoor spaces welcome in the landscape, where modestly scaled living spaces and bedrooms lie.
Country Life Magazine (August 20, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Sensational Scotland’ – Where to buy north of the border; The legend of the Stone of Scone; Up the workers – Chatsworth’s red-sock army; Forests of the future – the trees we should plant now…
Building on history
In the first of two articles, John Goodall charts the central role played by Scone and its former abbey in the history of Scotland.
Barking up the right tree
Britain’s native trees are facing an uncertain future, but we can still act to save our magnificent woodland, argues Sir Harry Studholme
Working their red socks off
A very special band of helpers is behind the smooth staging of Chatsworth Country Fair, as volunteer Simon Reinhold reveals
O Flowers of Scotland
Penny Churchill casts her eye over three Scottish estates, one a ‘pastoral oasis’ making its first appearance on the open market
Tom Byrne’s favourite painting
The actor chooses a work that treads that fine divide between ‘life and death, night and day’.
Dive in with both feet
There’s nothing more diverse than divers. Marianne Taylor dips below the surface to examine these underwater masters
Thistle do nicely
The ‘weediest of weeds’ is loved by insects, loathed by landowners. John Wright tackles the prickly matter of Scotland’s emblem.
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell selects luxuries designed or made in Scotland
Is that a plum in your mouth?
Tom Parker Bowles finds that the best way to savour traditional British varieties is to grow them yourself
Sculpting with plants
Perennials and billowing grasses are a perfect backdrop for the sculpture at Whitburgh House in Midlothian, finds Caroline Donald
Country Life Magazine (August 14, 2024): The latest issue features‘Save the Albion Cow’ – It’s rarer than a Giant Panda; Old houses, new technology; Hot and Steamy – Why the pressure cooker is back and Whizz kids – What made Elizabeth I, Brunel and Nelson special…
Breed for victory
Our treasured native livestock breeds are in danger of being lost, yet they have a crucial role to play, believes Kate Green
Levelling up
Anyone waiting with trepidations for the A-level results should take heart from the likes of Nelson and Brunel, says Alice Loxton
If walls could talk
Old houses with poor wifi need not be denied new gadgets, from wireless lighting to kettles that can be switched on remotely. Julie Harding taps her screen
What makes you click?
From a hollowed-out cow to autofocus and gyro-stabilised cameras, clever ideas continue to transform wildlife photography. Amie Elizabeth White takes a look down the lense.
Full steam ahead
Neil Buttery fires up the pressure cooker, back in our kitchens and tenderising those bones
Paint your wagon
Sturdy, hardworking and now prized for their rarity, farm wagons were key to rural life in times past. Jack Watkins rolls out the surviving examples.
Country Life’s tech commandments
Follow thou Toby Keel’s wise advice for digital life and thou shalt not be shunned in society
Planting for the future
The new generation is building on a fine legacy of gardening and travel at Bryngwyn Hall in Powys, where Caroline Donald wanders among trees gathered from far-flung countries
Foraging
John Wright sets off into the woods in search of meaty rot fungi, the magnificent chicken of the woods and its cousin, joy-inducing hen of the woods
Waiter! My soup is cold
It might be an acquired taste, but gazpacho — recipe of your choice — is worth tasting again. Tom Parker Bowles dips his spoon into a Spanish favourite
Country Life Magazine (August 7, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Huts for Heroes’ – Where adventures start…
A consolation and pleasure
Could Queen Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert, be considered an architect? He thought so — and Michael Hall tends to agree
The legacy
Carla Passino salutes the modest Henry Tate, whose name will live forever in the art world
The secret history of flowers
Healing, revealing, defence against thieving, our wildflowers’ names tell the story of our ancestors. John Lewis-Stempel reads the leaves
Up where the air is clear
An Antarctic explorer’s base or a Scottish fisherman’s shelter, the humble hut is a crucial element in stirring tales. Robin Ashcroft opens the doors
You rang, your majesty?
Even the most distasteful jobs could offer compensations to savvy servants in the Royal Household, finds Susan Jenkins
Going Dutch
The great Netherlandish masters have no equal in admirers and influence, believes Michael Hall
Harriet Hastings’s favourite painting
The biscuiteer picks a haunting scene in a lonely hotel room
Against the Grain
Carla Carlisle pays tribute to the memory of a farmer, honest broadcaster and dear friend
Bottoms up
What do the white behinds of rabbits, deer and foxes really say? Laura Parker deciphers scuts, rumps and rears
Summer’s last stand
Securing the harvest is the weather watcher’s concern in August, says Lia Leendertz
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell wraps up in style ready to hit the beach
Interiors
A party-ready sitting room and stylish touches for a home office
London Life
Rooftop cocktails
Wiggy Hindmarch, wine cellars and rosebay willowherb
William Hosie’s capital characters
Richard MacKichan on the British Museum Reading Room’s return
Presiding spirits
The fourth generation to nurture the garden of Glin Castle, Co Limerick, Ireland, is doing her predecessors proud. Caroline Donald explores a windswept haven beside the Shannon
Kitchen garden cook
Melanie Johnson conjures up treats with courgette flowers
It’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you do with it
Even the tiniest town garden can offer views and wildlife to rival open countryside, believes city dweller Jonathan Notley
Travel
Pamela Goodman gives in to whimsy in Wales
Harry Hastings delights in the Art Deco Hotel Casa Lucía in Argentina
Rosie Paterson rounds up the best new openings in Greece
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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