At Haxted our passion for creating the best possible spaces often feels like climbing the biggest mountains. Well one our own - @nickm_r - has decided to take that literally and leaves today to attempt the world’s third highest - the mighty Kanchenjunga with the @mountexpeds expedition. We’ll be posting updates but follow Nick direct and subscribe to his blog. राम्रो भाग्य
Rest in peace Richard Rogers. A trailblazer in the world of high-tech architecture. I remember being completely absorbed by an exhibition of his work about 15 years ago and appreciating his sensibility for the enduring lessons of the classical world. He was driven by the Ephebic Oath which the young trainee officer men of Ancient Athens swore - ‘I shall leave this City not less but more beautiful than I found it.’ And his work always sought to do that. It’s always inspired my approach to development.
He was also a pioneer of designing buildings with longevity and flexibility in mind. It was the the bedrock principle that he and Renzo Piano put forward for their Pompidou Centre competition entry.
“When society demands buildings capable of responding to changing requirements, then we must provide flexibility and search for new forms that express beauty within adaptability.”
Cane Hill 1882-2021.
The most sustainable approach to building is to keep the one’s we’ve already got and show them appropriate respect. We felt that the best way to do that was to deliver our new interventions to be as distinct and honestly new as possible. This project has tested us to breaking point and has likely still got some unexpected surprises in store. Here’s to emerging stronger and wiser #canehill #adaptivereuse #davidbowie #themanwhosoldtheworld
Cane Hill has been 7 years in the life of Haxted. It’s tested the resilience of the business to the absolute limit. Plenty of people said we were crazy taking on such a challenging heritage project. But here we are heading into the last furlong and pushing the sales process harder now. Without sales of course things get very hairy.....
Thing is there’s no greater privilege than making spaces that people will call home. Sir Winston Churchill famously said “I have nothing to offer but blood, sweat, tears and toil”....
Heart and soul. That’s what all the best projects in life require.
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#canehill #canehillpark #development #construction #makingspace #makingspacework #croydon #davidbowie #themanwhosoldtheworld #terryburns #realestate #heritage #creatingtomorrowsheritage #haxted #homeswithsoul #soul
