Urban Sculpture

Completely off the subject. I couldn't help but notice that a nearby suburb, inspired by the innovative city of Bilbao, has installed in front of the railway station, what seems to be a Jeff Koons sculpture of cousin Itt.

Plan vasque en béton

The formwork just before pouring the concrete. The Client decided the concrete was to be black. As black as possible, so she tipped the whole jar of colouring powder into the mix (enough for 7 times as much concrete). The Architect now has a black right hand and luckily escaped having a permanently stained black face.

Curly bits in the Auvergne

The visit to the steelworkers atelier in the Auvergne was well worth the 600 km. The atelier is in a tiny village of no more than 50 inhabitants situated in the extreme north of the Auvergne region. The company has a very large set of gates proudly displayed in front of the atelier, worthy of the entrance to Versailles with lots of knobs and curly bits (really not to The Architects particular taste but impressive all the same) and in stark contrast to the industrial construction of the atelier. The gates show off, to passers by, their prowess at twisting metal into all sorts of complicated twists and turns and swan like forms etc. Despite this this innate 'savoir faire' they have managed to build the 'minimalist rectilinear gates of my design with absolutely no curly bits. Well nearly, just one tiny little curly bit.......the floor bolt that locks the gate has a Shepherds crook top to it - it was so cute that I've decided to keep it. How magnanimous of me. Despite the risk of being called Post Modern. Brave too.


I arrived at around midday, so, after the serious business of 'déjeuner' being taken care of in the nearby Auberge we got down to the less serious task of working out what to do with the structural disaster of the steel gates. After lots of cogitation a simple solution was decided on that should do the job and stiffen the structure with the addition of the least possible steel.

C'est qui?....C'est le plombier! (et l'électricien)

Due to popular demand a quick September update. The plumber has arrived at long last and is making up for his sporadic fleeting appearances. Boilers, baths, waste pipes, radiators etc. everything is going in at the same time.
This is great news, everything would be hunky dory if it wasn't for the fact that The (bloody) Builder is now gracing another site with his presence rather than ours - jilted that's what we are!
He has very little left do do, but I get the distinct impression it's going to be like getting blood out of a stone (or port out of a box of ceramic tiles).


The Architect has decided (always strikes fear into The Client's heart when she hears that one) that he will contribute something of his own creation, that is, something made with his very own hands. A little in the style of Grand Designs - a bit of decking from Kevin?. No, not decking again - the bathroom will be graced with a plan vasque in concrete.

This is very brave of The Architect to announce this before attacking the oeuvre. It of course demands that the enterprise is a success. A lot of research has gone into the preparation...watch this space for more details.


Other news...oh yes, the gates and fence. The Architect's steel gates are drooping. To much minimalism and not enough sound structural thinking. Which means that The Architect has to visit the workshop in deepest darkest France to sort out some sort of solution that doesn't turn minimalism in to major disaster. I'm not going to post any photos as all you smart alecs out there will be posting messages to explain the correct principles of structural bracing. So you could say things are going pear shaped......?