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La Posada by José Benlliure y Gil (ca. 1890) courtesy of V&A
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Clean is Green
I recently read a BBC article (Why cheap power could matter more than clean power in the push for net zero 15 April 2026) in which some call for use of the term cheap energy as opposed to clean energy. The article opened with people turning to solar panels and heat pumps to save money,…
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Mad Max Movies Rated
The Mad Max franchise is generally considered the progenitor for the modern post-apocalyptic wasteland genre, focusing on the collapse of society and a nomadic existence, and perhaps very relevant for today. I do not usually comment on film and music here, although both are a big part of my life which have highly influenced my…
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Why Eco-Architecture?
Why did you start commentating as Eco-architecture? Working in a local authority architecture department I started commenting on articles I found interesting in the architectural press, principally concerned with local government adopting MMC (Modern Methods of Construction) for energy efficient social housing, only to find nobody else had read them. The LABM (Local Authority Building…
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Warm Homes Plan
The Warm Homes Plan, an extension of the Government’s Warm Home Discount funding and grant schemes, is to be introduced for installation of heat pumps by moving away from gas toward all electric energy. In principle The Warm Homes Plan is welcome for efficiency yet it may remain unaffordable for many. While converting to all…
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Word Censorship
Driving home for the festive holiday Fairytale of New York by The Progues came on Radio 1. I noticed memorable lyrics sang by Kirsty MacColl sounded different and learned the BBC had changed the words of the song familiar to me. This revision made me think, is it ever appropriate to change works of literature,…
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Curses!
This post contains a little historical swearing. Recently I listened to a podcast in which they discussed swearing in historical fiction. I very rarely swear myself, and seldom use it in my novels, not because of sensibility but rather relevance. Appropriate use of swearing is about fitting in with the society you live in, and…
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Passivhaus Cost Benefit
There is more benefit from adopting Passivhaus than simply low or zero energy bills. Failing to implement super energy efficient building, equivalent to the Passivhaus standard, could cost the UK an estimated £20 billion or more in infrastructure investment over the next 20 years, it has been suggested (Passivhaus Trust). If we continue to build…
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Offsite Off-kilter
It is time to talk about offsite and Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). Both terms have become widely used in the last few years, promoted by the government as modular construction, a way of delivering housing projects more efficiently, in a safe controlled environment. On the face of it, these methods appear to delivery exactly…
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Workhome Life Balance
After the widespread rise and adoption of hybrid working, a trend were employees divide their work time between home and the office, and some businesses mandating a return to ‘traditional’ office-based work and an end to home working initiatives, I thought it pertinent to revisit my post on Workhome Wellbeing of 2021. Office working to…
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Passive Eco Wall
Ecological Building Systems, drawing from 25 years of experience promoting green building materials, has developed Passive EcoWall, a system which integrates low embodied carbon and natural materials to deliver passive house performance levels. Embodied carbon from the construction and refurbishment of buildings accounts for around 14 per cent of built environment emissions according to the…