Home Truths
This is an article that was originally written for The Northern Correspondent and is reblogged here. From red tops to broadsheets, there is wide agreement that we are amidst a housing crisis. Coupled with regressive austerity policies and welfare reform housing has never been so politically and socially divisive. We are also seeing a rise in increasingly ‘informal’ … Read More
“WE’VE LOST THE ABILITY TO USE OUR HANDS”: A conversation on self-help housing
Everybody lives in shanty towns in Belize. I lived in a little shack there once for three months. It’s all timber framed buildings and everyone builds their own. They have some professionally built places for hotels and that but they’re all built from wood. Brick is too expensive. They don’t feel very secure though, … Read More
On Creativity
by Nyree Denney Julia (the Protohome project leader and visionary – well, it’s true – because she has both envisioned and functioned as catalyst for (and within) this project – asked me to write a blog entry. As all members of the project have been or will be invited to do. About creativity. Urk. Heart … Read More
The Bootcamp, The Barcuzzi and the Hostel Circuit
These last two weeks in the PROTOHOME workshop have seen a lot of drawing, walking, talking, baking and always a lot of laughing. We are now over a month into the project and last Thursday our wood arrived, so we’re ready to start the big build. Up until now we’ve been learning various jointing techniques … Read More
Learning Skills
We’ve learned people skills- communication, listening and especially how to make a good cup of coffee. You’ve got to muck in. We have good conversation and we’re working as a team. I’m apparently a live wire. We make conversation together- about home and business, a little bit of everything. About our volunteering and training. We … Read More
Designing Protohome: Segal and his system
PROTOHOME design In this post I’m going to talk a little bit about the system of build that we’re using, called the Segal system. Walter Segal was an architect who developed a system of self-build housing specifically designed for untrained self-builders. Whilst rebuilding the family home he built a temporary structure in his garden using standard … Read More