Q: Congratulations on the publication of your new book. What inspired this project and what do you hope readers will take away from it? Q: As the title suggests, your book explores the concept of 'living tradition’. Can you elaborate on what this term means to you and how it manifests in the featured projects, as well as in your broader body of work? Q: In what ways does understanding the history of architecture help to unlock innovative and more sustainable ways of planning for the future? How has this been displayed in your work? Q: Ultimate Library designed book collections for two country houses featured in Living Tradition , Fawler Manor and Bear Ash. Can you tell briefly about these projects and the unique challenges and opportunities they presented? Q: Which three books have influenced you most as an architect and urban designer and why? The Rules for Drawing the Several Parts of Architecture Building Craftsmanship in Brick, Tile and in Stone Slate The Art of Building Cities Why do book collections matter? Book a consultation with a ~personal curator Contact Quick Links Follow us @ultimatelibrary Join our community
ADAM Architecture's Hugh Petter on Living Tradition
10 Oct 2023
Hugh Petter is one of the world’s leading traditional architects, whose award-winning portfolio features an array of projects, from handsome new country houses to the major refurbishments of historic buildings, significant urban extensions and pioneering work for Oxford’s Trinity College and HRH The Former Prince of Wales.
Since first meeting Hugh in 2013, we have curated books for a number of country houses that he has designed. As he celebrates the publication of his new book
Living Tradition: The Architecture and Urbanism of Hugh Petter
, we sat down with him to hear about his life-long interest in traditional architecture, his approach to sustainability and the future of architecture and three books that have inspired his work.
Thank you very much. I have been in practice now for over 30 years. From the outset I have had a particular interest in traditional architecture and urban design as a living, evolving phenomenon, with each generation learning from its forebears and adapting proven principles and techniques to tackle new challenges.
Strange as it may sound, in the UK today most architects are trained to think that they are a genius, capable of brilliant original and relevant ideas without any study of the past. It is often thought unoriginal and degenerate to waste one’s time looking backwards: instead we are told that we should all be fresh and original whilst ignoring everything that history can teach us! Whilst some designers may have the gift of genius most, sadly, do not! For the latter, it would surely be so better to study the past and to learn from it in order to inform the future? The lamentable state of most new development and the ghastly way in which so many new buildings jar self-consciously with their older neighbours surely attests to the ethos I espouse?~~I’ve enjoyed an unusually varied career in terms of both project work and opportunities to help nurture the next generation. Finding myself in my mid fifties, I thought now was a good time to pull it all together into a book, showing the many ways in which the spirit of the living tradition can be applied to different situations. I hope that this book may inspire other architects and urbanists to follow in my footsteps and dare to stand in turn, metaphorically, upon my shoulders.
Chettle House. Photography: Dylan Thomas
One of the things I most admire about traditional architecture is how each generation can add their own layer to a building or place, perfectly in harmony with the older work and yet still identifiable to the discerning eye. When working on an old building, I like to start with my team by finding out everything I can about it; about the previous phases of work; the people involved, and the materials and construction techniques.~~When inserting a new building into an historic setting I will study the setting carefully so that the materials, scale and detail of the new building all harmonise visually with the older neighbour. The default position for many current architects is to create a visual counterpoint, but the impact upon such a move relies upon the harmony of the other buildings around it and, over time, if every building starts to screech for attention, the whole place degenerates into a discordant and unsettling cacophony of self-conscious architecture. Important buildings should of course draw attention to themselves – that is how one knows they are important. But other less prominent buildings should take their place more quietly, providing a serene and uplifting backdrop to life of all kinds.
As a practice, we work with nature in our projects to minimise the need for operational carbon through good design. Traditional architecture has much to teach us in terms of natural light; ventilation; thermal stability; healthy, natural materials; engendering a sense of wellbeing, and so on. The Ancient Romans used proportions to set out buildings because there was no standard unit of measurement. Those proportions were rediscovered in the Renaissance and became enshrined in design theory as a means to create beautiful new places. I use a grid of 300mm for most of my projects because the unit more or less equates to metric brick dimensions and gives a practical and elegant means of creating beautifully proportioned rooms with minimal effort to cut bricks, thereby saving money and carbon.~~In our urban design work, we try to create places where people can not only live in low carbon houses, but live low carbon lifestyles by walking or cycling to the shops, school, the office etc., and grow their own food. The most developed project example of these principles is the urban extension to Newquay at Nansledan for the Duchy of Cornwall. The scheme has grown from 400 homes to 4000, and the community wants more development because it is being delivered in tune with their needs – they are feeling the social and economic warmth that flows from it. I feel passionately that a traditional approach to both architecture and urban design can result in projects that are at once familiar, beautiful, enduring and sustainable.
Bear Ash is a beautiful place which, when our client bought it, had a rambling older building on the site. The old house was in poor condition and was incapable of adaptation to meet modern needs so the answer was to replace it. Because of where the site is located, planning policies for replacement dwellings were very restrictive, so we had to think carefully about how to make a new, compact country house with beautiful rooms that were big enough to be useful and flexible enough to accommodate the needs of modern family life. Bear Ash now, I hope at least, has a timeless elegance and beauty that will endure well with minimal maintenance, and it sits comfortably in its mature landscape setting, making a virtue of the awkward topography.~~Fawler Manor, by contrast, is a listed historic building with a troubled past. At its core is a C16th hall house with a later C17th cross wing. There was a second unfortunate C20th cross wing on the southern side of the plan with very awkward proportions; poorly constructed, and difficult to adapt for modern patterns of living. But a fire caused by a lightning strike created the opportunity to reimagine the southern range. In this way, out of the ashes of a tragedy arose a phoenix. The new southern range is more formal than the older parts of the house and has the appearance of an C18th wing with sash windows. The concept is ‘instant history’ – creating a narrative that might have occurred in the past, to help ensure that the new and the old sit well together.
BY James Gibbs
One of my three would have to be James Gibbs’s
The Rules for Drawing the Several Parts of Architecture
. I have always admired Gibbs’s strong aesthetic sense, his clever and practical use of geometry and his shrewd business acumen. I use this book myself, and also to help train my team.
BY Nathaniel Lloyd
My second favourite book is
Building Craftsmanship in Brick, Tile and in Stone Slate
. Originally published in 1929, it provides a practical and detailed summary of the materials and practical methods used by one of my great heroes, Sir Edwin Lutyens and his Arts and Crafts colleagues. It provides a feast of practical information, and the no-nonsense way in which Lloyd reveals his pearls of wisdom is thrilling to behold.
BY Camillo Sitte
My third favourite book is Camillo Sitte’s
The Art of Building Cities
. I was introduced to it by Leon Krier, the visionary contemporary urban designer and genius behind Poundbury. It’s an inspiring book and helps train the reader’s eye to look at the spaces between buildings rather than at the buildings themselves. It’s the mastery of the latter, a fundamental skill for anyone interested in urban design, which is so endlessly fascinating and important.
We want to thank Hugh for being our expert this month.
Find Hugh on
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and order his new book
Living Tradition
via
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and other retailers. You can also discover more about ADAM Architecture on their
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