Fashion, Art, Design, Lifestyle

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Swatch Essentials

OBSIDIAN INK

£115.00

https://www.swatch.com/en-gb/obsidian-ink-sust402/SUST402.html

 

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Polo Shirts Are Back: Here's How To Style Them 3 Ways

https://slman.com/style/fashion/3-ways-to-style-a-polo-shirt

For many men, polo shirts have been a constant companion for a long time. But sometimes even the closest of friendships needs a little attention. Here are three ways to perk up your polo and show the world you care…

Look 1

 

Buttonless styles are a recent update that feels a little cooler. A suede jacket is a stylish layer for the colder days ahead. Boat shoes complete this transitional look.

 

Cotton Towelling Polo Shirt, £28.50 (was £57)
Beige Striped Pyjama Trousers, £128 | Tekla
Suede Leather Zip Up Jacket, £279 | Massimo Dutti
Not From Paris Madame Cap, £65 | Drôle De Monsieur
Weekender 38mm Fabric Strap Watch, £60 | Timex
Interlocking G Suede Driving Shoes, £575 | Gucci

Look 2

 

Try chocolate brown or deep burgundy to add colour, then throw on a casual suit, versatile enough to work for a range of occasions. If you need to keep things on the smarter side, opt for loafers and a belt.

100% Linen Blazer Co-Ord, £199 | Massimo Dutti
Linen Co-Ord Trousers, £89.95 | Massimo Dutti
Printed Silk-Twill Pocket Square, £151 | Tom Ford
3cm Leather Belt, £225 | Drakes's
Nelson Cola Sunglasses, £150 | Monokel
Queens Crest Loafers, £440 | Aimé Leon Dore
 

Look 3

 

These relaxed-fit trousers and polo are a great city-ready pairing. Size up for a contemporary edge – and a simple change of shoes can take this look from work to the weekend.

Atwood Polo Shirt, £50 | Wax
Wide Trousers, £20 (was £29.99) | H&M
Ecru Cotton Sports Socks, £25 | Drake's
Cruikshank Sunglasses, £150 | Cubitts
Palissy Weekend Bag, £735 | Carl Friedrik
Harvard 2 Shoes, £450 | Crockett & Jones

 

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Seymour Hand Duo + Reusable Pumps

https://www.commune.cc/products/seymour-hand-duo

Description

Our hands are the unsung heroes of daily life, elevate your ritual with our hand care products; designed to soothe, protect, and indulge your skin. Our Seymour Hand Kit is our way of giving something back, lavishing the potency of botanicals on the hardest-working parts of your body. Formulated for everyday use, this daily wash and rich cream is packed with natural oils including Coconut, Jojoba, Rosehip, and Sweet Almond, while Shea and Cocoa butters provide deep comfort and protection. Made in the U.K.

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BRUNELLO CUCINELLI

Leather-Trimmed Stretch-Knit Sneakers

https://www.mrporter.com/en-gb/mens/product/brunello-cucinelli/shoes/low-top-sneakers/leather-trimmed-stretch-knit-sneakers/29419655931753401

Brunello Cucinelli's sneakers have stretch-knit uppers for a supportive, sock-like fit. Trimmed with leather at the eyelets, they're set on thick rubber soles and have tabs to make them easier to pull on and off. The branding is minimal, so you can wear them with relaxed tailoring.

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Studio Terratects nestles earthy home into Keralan forest

https://www.dezeen.com/2024/09/03/studio-terratects-urul-kerala/

Indian practice Studio Terratects has completed Urul, a house on a forested site in Kerala, India, which features a mud-plastered interior.

Designed for a client engaged in environmentalism, the home in Wayanad has an earthy material palette intended to evoke nature as much as possible.

Studio Terratects has also celebrated local craftsmanship and "artisanal techniques" throughout to help connect Urul to its context.

"The core concept behind the design was to create a residence where every corner and element narrates a unique story of craftsmanship and nature's interplay," principal architect Roshith Shibu told Dezeen.

"The design integrates artisanal techniques and natural materials, resulting in a home that feels both thoughtfully crafted and organically connected to its environment."

Urul has a clean-cut geometric form. The lower level of its front portion is contained within a cuboidal, earth-toned block, left open on one side to make space for a terrace.

Its upper level has a smaller footprint, enclosed by black and grey walls with large windows. It is topped by a flat roof with deep eaves to shelter a balcony.

Additional volumes intersect to form the remainder of the home, including a pale grey form and an earth-toned block that are connected by a glass link.

A black C-shaped volume extends from one side of the home's raised ground floor, perforated with a circular opening that forms the front porch.

Accessed by a small flight of steps with a wooden handrail, this sheltered porch opens into a bright living area, bordered on one side by a fully glazed wall with sheer floor-to-ceiling curtains.

The living space is further brightened by white sofas and a skylight near the home's entrance, while wooden furnishings give the space a natural feel.

Wooden battens line the ceiling and add texture to the room, in tandem with exposed structural elements made of concrete and steel.

In addition to the other materials, mud plaster made with locally sourced earth was used across the interior walls.

"In designing this residence, the material palette was chosen to reflect the client's environmentalism and desire for a nature-inspired, earthy home," said Shibu.

"Mud plastering was selected for its thermal insulation properties and natural aesthetic, with the added significance of bearing the fingerprints of the local tribal community, telling a story of traditional craftsmanship."

A walkway extends from one side of the living space, where a wooden workstation runs along a wall lined with woven artwork. Behind this is a small courtyard.

"The arrangement of the spaces, including the outdoor areas, was guided by a commitment to creating a harmonious flow between the indoors and the natural surroundings," said Shibu.

"Key considerations included maximising natural light, ensuring optimal ventilation, and fostering a seamless transition between the home's interior and its external environment," added Shibu.

"Functional zones are arranged to promote both privacy and social interaction, ensuring that each space serves its purpose while contributing to the overall harmony and balance of the residence," he continued.

Other spaces on the ground floor include a bedroom illuminated by floor-to-ceiling glazing, a kitchen and dining room that borders a small courtyard and a bathroom. Beside the walkway is a winding staircase surrounded by walls with geometric cutouts and irregular voids.

The upper level of Urul features rooms designed to blend with the outdoors, including a generously sized terrace and a second bedroom. The walkway to the terrace borders an interior void decorated with hanging lights, offering views of the home's ground floor.

Other recently completed Indian homes include a curving home with walls lined with discarded toys and compressed earth blocks and a rammed-earth home informed by vernacular building techniques.

The photography is by Prasanth Mohan.

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https://shopayda.com/products/beau-cardigan

 

https://shopayda.com/products/beau-cricket-sweater-1

 

https://shopayda.com/collections/country-club/products/amanda-polo

[NikkiCFC 8,342]

On 04/09/2024 at 14:32, Vesper said:

Polo Shirts Are Back: Here's How To Style Them 3 Ways

https://slman.com/style/fashion/3-ways-to-style-a-polo-shirt

 

 

Really started to grow on Polo shirts after I saw Boss campaign with Matteo Berrettini. Got a couple of those. 

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’The Rest of the People Would Just Watch Television’ 
Series of 3 (Each a unique likeness)
Lego figures cast in resin on wood and aluminium
159cm x 128cm 

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Autumn arts preview 2024

From Van Gogh to Le Va, Rego to the Renaissance: the best exhibitions for autumn 2024

From this year’s Turner prize and pioneering scatter art to Monet’s London and Goya’s surreal visions – there’s something for all art lovers

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/aug/28/van-gogh-rego-best-exhibitions-autumn-2024

 

Art

Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers

 

Taking us from euphoria to despair, Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers promises to be spectacular. Including works rarely on public display and focusing on the turbulent two years the artist spent in Arles and in the Saint-Paul asylum in Saint-Rémy, the National Gallery’s first exhibition on Van Gogh includes more than 50 works. AS
 National Gallery, London, 14 September to 19 January

Why Do We Take Drugs?

Take a six-month trip in this series of interlinked exhibitions, which will explore drug cultures around the world. In one show, Power Plants, there will be a Japanese tea ceremony. In another, Heroin Falls, photographs by Graham MacIndoe depicting his years as an addict. The exciting ceramicist Lindsey Mendick has created an elaborate work called Hot Mess, drawing on her relationship with booze and antidepressants, while a show about psychedelics will include a VR ayahuasca trip. With cocaine use in the UK at record highs, this show could not be more timely. AN
 Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia, 14 September to 27 April

Marlene Dumas: Mourning Marsyas

Dumas is a painter’s painter. Loss and mourning, life and ancient myth are entwined in the Amsterdam-based artist’s first major show in the UK since her 2015 Tate retrospective. Gods, humans and spectres emerge from flurries and pours of paint in a brave, compelling art that is always as raw and frank as it is sophisticated. AS
 Frith Street Gallery, London, 20 September to 16 November

Glenn Ligon: All Over the Place

Glenn Ligon’s Study for Negro Sunshine (Red) #15. Photograph: Courtesy of the artist, Hauser & Wirth, Regen Projects, Thomas Dane Gallery, Galerie Chantal Crousel; Christopher Burke

As well as highlights from the text-based paintings he’s been producing since the late 1980s and a large-scale neon from 2021, Ligon offers a new take on the Fitzwilliam’s wonderful permanent collection. Using references as diverse as James Baldwin, Jean Genet and Richard Pryor to reflect on his identity as a gay African American, Ligon also juxtaposes his own works with Degas, Frank Auerbach’s drypoints, annotated medieval manuscripts and Chinese copies of Wedgwood ceramics. AS
 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 20 September to 2 March

Turner prize 2024

Our complex modern world is seen from four new perspectives using radically varied artistic media in the latest instalment of this now almost venerable competition. Roma experience, the history of the Philippines, Blackness and Sikh identity are among the themes. Delaine Le Bas, Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson and Jasleen Kaur are the competing artists. JJ
 Tate Britain, London, 25 September to 16 February

Silk Roads

East and west were once regarded by historians – and ideologists – as separate worlds, but the histories of Europe and Asia are linked by the trading networks that brought Chinese silk to ancient Rome and Greek art to Afghanistan. This exhibition celebrates these “Silk Roads” and the wondrous cultural exchanges they created. JJ
 British Museum, London, 26 September to 23 February

Uncanny Visions: Rego and Goya

Paula Rego, Untitled (People Eating). Photograph: Courtesy Ostrich Arts and Victoria Miro

Paula Rego’s twisted fairytales and family nightmares ought to make a powerful pairing with Goya’s visions of the surreal and cruel. Goya depicted the psychological turmoil of Spain in the age of Napoleon. Rego’s macabre imagination was shaped by Portugal’s dictatorship. They share a tormented, gleeful appetite for the dark. JJ
 Holburne Museum, Bath, 27 September to 5 January

Nairy Baghramian: Jumbled Alphabet

Shapes yawn and droop, clamp and collide; they snag and they fold and they nestle in uneasy alliances. Often exhibiting errant behaviour, Baghramian’s highly crafted sculptures are both resolutely abstract and full of life. One group of her works, Misfits, is inspired by children’s building blocks, while others are made in collaboration with other artists. AS
 South London Gallery, 27 September to 12 January

Monet and London: Views of the Thames

Cosmic visions of a foggy river lit by solar fire with ghostly reflections of parliament – not even Turner painted the Thames as ravishingly as this French tourist from his hotel room at the Savoy. Now Monet’s London masterpieces are gathered close to where he created them. Should be sublime. JJ
 Courtauld Gallery, London, 27 September to 19 January

Anya Gallaccio: Preserve

Anya Gallaccio’s The Inner Space Within, 2008. Photograph: Andy Keate/© Anya Gallaccio. Courtesy the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery

Time, transience and transformation are at the heart of Anya Gallaccio’s art. She has resurrected fallen trees and used flowers, ice, wine and chocolate in works spanning more than three decades. As well as restaging earlier works, her project for Turner Contemporary includes a specially designed apple orchard near Faversham and new works with chalk, the bedrock of the Kent landscape and its coastal reefs. AS
 Turner Contemporary, Margate, 28 September to 26 January 2025

Sonia Boyce: An Awkward Relation/ Lygia Clark: The I and the You

In a double whammy for the Whitechapel, these paired exhibitions revel in artistic entanglement across time and space. Black British artist Sonia Boyce meets hugely influential late Brazilian painter Lygia Clark (1920-88), whose early geometric abstractions gave way to works that could be held and manipulated by the viewer, and whose focus was on an awareness of the body and the psyche. While Clark’s show surveys her entire career, Boyce’s An Awkward Relation focuses on rarely seen works from the 1990s involving the use of human and synthetic hair, touch and manipulation, as well as a seven-channel 2017 audio-visual work involving performance and interaction with the audience. Formal and human relationships, artistic influence, parallels and difference are the themes weaving these fascinating, concurrent exhibitions together. AS
 Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2 October to 12 January

Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit

Mike Kelley’s sudden, shocking death in 2012 ended a career as troubled as it was inventive. His work included recreating Superman’s home world, playing in bands and filming dramas that always pushed things too far. Video and sculpture, soft toys and banners, childhood trauma and twisted adult scenes replay in his oddly magnificent, sometimes frightening art. AS
 Tate Modern, London, 2 October to 9 March

Barbara Walker: Being Here

Whether drawing on paper or directly on to walls, Barbara Walker has spent years exploring the way Black lives are recorded and erased, whether through art history or official documentation. Last year she was nominated for the Turner prize for Burden of Proof, in which those on the receiving end of the Windrush scandal were drawn, and their identity papers superimposed on to them. An earlier series was inspired by the anguish of her youngest son being stopped and searched by the police. This exhibition features pictures from across her career, as well as new work made in response to the Whitworth’s collection of wallpaper and drawings. AN
 Whitworth Gallery, Manchester, 4 October to 26 January

The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975-1998

Bhupen Khakhar’s Grey Blanket. Photograph: Estate of Bhupen Khakhar

Modern India’s democracy went through big changes between Indira Gandhi’s declaration of a state of emergency in the mid-1970s and the nation’s emergence as a nuclear power at the end of the 20th century. The individualism and subversiveness of its art in this era brings that history bursting to life. JJ
 Barbican Art Gallery, London, 5 October to 5 January

Mire Lee

If you have ever longed to see the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall swarming with gothic shadows and decaying, disturbing tangles of organic matter, you may be in luck. This Seoul-born, Amsterdam-based artist makes atmospheric installations that suggest entropy and the perverse. On this colossal scale, her poetic ruins should be hypnotic. JJ
 Tate Modern Turbine Hall, London, 9 October to 16 March

Francis Bacon: Human Presence

You wouldn’t necessarily want to be portrayed by Bacon, your face (on canvas) pummelled into a slab of raw flesh, then reconfigured after photographs of wounds. Yet people paid him for this and he portrayed friends and lovers with the same unforgiving genius. The godless god of modern British art. JJ
 National Portrait Gallery, London, 10 October to 19 January

Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour

Vanessa Bell’s Conversation Piece. Photograph: University of Hull/© Estate of Vanessa Bell. All rights reserved, DACS 2024

The physical world is a mystery to be explored in Bell’s pioneering modern art. The Bloomsbury group to which she belonged were among the first people in Britain to see and appreciate French modernists such as Cézanne and Picasso. Bell is inspired by them to see the majesty of small things. JJ
 MK Gallery, Milton Keynes, 19 October to 23 February

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas

Not only was Mirga-Tas the first Romany artist ever to represent their nation state (in this case Poland) at the Venice biennale in 2022, but her pavilion wowed everyone who saw it with its enormous, tactile, sensual cloth collages made from stitched-together vintage clothing, tablecloths or curtains, depicting people from her local community in a way that defied and rebuked stereotypes. This, her first major museum show in the UK, promises to be both eye-opening and heartwarming. AN
 Tate St Ives, 19 October to 5 January

Barry Le Va: In a State of Flux

Barry Le Va was a pioneer of 1970s “scatter art”. Delicate and alarming, seemingly chaotic yet meticulously mapped-out, Le Va’s fan-blown chalk, shattered glass, coloured felt, ball bearings and mahogany beams both entrance viewers and keep them at bay. Le Va (1941-2021) is little known in Britain but his influence persists. AS
 Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, 26 October to 2 February

Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael

Detail of Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and Child with St Anne and the Infant St John the Baptist. Photograph: The National Gallery, London

Florence, 1504. Leonardo is working on the Mona Lisa and Michelangelo has just finished David. Let’s get them to compete! Their rival battle paintings commissioned by the government lead to a war of drawings while young Raphael watches and learns. A stunning clash of geniuses, a bloody Florentine steak of a show. JJ
 Royal Academy, London, 9 November to 16 February

Design

Cover Me Softly

From cover versions, to running for cover, to covering your back, to literal covers to keep the rain out, this wide-ranging exhibition will explore the idea of covers in all their many forms. Taking place in the historic garrison in the Romanian city of Timișoara, the biennial will include a diverse cast of architects, designers, musicians, artists, activists, photographers and writers. OW
 Beta 2024 Biennial, Timișoara, Romania, from 13 September until 27 October

Future Observatory: Tomorrow’s Wardrobe

Fashion is said to be the second most polluting industry after oil and gas, responsible for more emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined. This exhibition will showcase the latest work to tackle the industry’s carbon footprint, from material innovations to production techniques and digital IDs, featuring designs by Stella McCartney, Ponda, Ahluwalia, Salomon, Ranra, Phoebe English and Vivobarefoot. OW
 Design Museum, London, from 14 September until August 2025

Concrete Dreams

Brasília of the North … Felling Swimming Baths. Photograph: Photo: Swinton Wood Photography. Image courtesy of Napper Architects and Somethingconcreteandmodern.org.uk

This exhibition, immersive installation and series of events will explore the bold postwar aspirations to transform Newcastle into the “Brasília of the North”. Exhibits range from a six-metre-long model of the city from the 1960s, imagining Newcastle’s future, to the original architectural model of Owen Luder’s now demolished brutalist Trinity Square car park in Gateshead, alongside maps, drawings, photographs and films. OW
 The Farrell Centre, Newcastle, 19 September to June 2025

Looks Delicious!

Across Japan, bowls of fake noodles glisten in restaurant windows, next to platters of fake sushi – mouthwatering tableaux designed to entice diners inside. The history and culture of shokuhin sampuru, or food samples, will come to London this autumn, in a dazzling exhibition of models of Japan’s regional dishes, from Okinawa’s bitter melon stir-fry to Hokkaido’s succulent seafood. OW
 Japan House, London, 2 October to 16 February

Lost Gardens of London

Peerless Pool in City Road, Finsbury, c1800. Photograph: © London Metropolitan Archives (City of London)

Did you know that one of London’s most celebrated botanical gardens now lies beneath the platforms of Waterloo station? Or that Southwark once had a zoo? This exhibition will shine a light on some of the thousands of gardens that have vanished from the capital, from princely pleasure grounds to productive allotments and eccentric private menageries, painting a tantalising picture of a lost landscape.OW
 Garden Museum, London, 23 October to 2 March

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Planet-friendly watches

 

https://detrash.com/products/player-one

Made with 80% recycled steel, on an ocean-plastic strap, with a Seiko NH35 automatic movement, 200m water resistance and sapphire crystal. Each watch is limited to around 100 pieces, individually numbered and at least 1% of turnover goes to help the planet.

 

Dimensions: Diameter 41mm, lug width 20mm, lug to lug 47mm, height 12.9mm

Case material: 80% Recycled Stainless Steel, equivalent to 316L Surgical-grade Stainless Steel

Strap material: #Tide Recycled Ocean Plastic with spring bars

Crystal: Scratch-Resistant Sapphire Crystal with anti-reflective coating

Bezel material: Ceramic, uni-directional, 120 clicks.

Water resistance: 20 ATM / 200m

Crown: Screw-down

Lume: Swiss Superluminova. (Note: This is the hightest spec lume, however it's importnat to note that it works better on the lighter colours than it does on the darker ones).

Movement: Seiko NH35 date. Automatic, self-winding mechanical. 24 Jewels. Dialshock anti-shock. 41 hours power reserve. Sweeping second hand. Quick date correction. 21,600 vibrations/ hr. Antimagnetic ≥ 4800 A/m. Accuracy: -20 ~ +40 seconds/day.

Dial: Brass with matte coating 

Hands: Brass

Packaging: 100% recycled, recyclable card and 100% recycled velvet (made with offcuts from the fashion industry). Minimal packaging to reduce waste, space and associated emissions

 

 

 

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Edited September 11, 2024 by Vesper

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Go Terrace Mode With These Four JD-Exclusive adidas Handball Spezials

https://www.sneakerfreaker.com/releases/adidas-handball-spezial-jd-sports-au-price-buy-release-date-spns/

adidas and their legendary terrace-geared catalogue, consisting of models like the Samba and Gazelle, have dominated the sneakerverse in the 2020s thanks to their easy-to-style silhouettes and crisp colourway executions. Some of these fans are now going deeper into the catalogue, discovering creps like the legendary Handball Spezial. If that’s you, then look no further than this Spezial four-pack that has just landed exclusively at JD Sports.

The Spezial line is one of the many jewels in the adidas crown. Run by long-time adidas fan Gary Aspden, the decade-old sub-brand resurrects older models from the expansive Team Trefoil archive, mainly looking to the old-school terrace culture of the 70s and 80s for inspiration. The Handball Spezial has arguably been the most successful reincarnation from the line and has quickly become a reliable daily driver for everyone from sneakerheads to football fanatics alike. The latest foursome embodies everything we love about the Handball, with a sleek build, crisp colourways and versatile materials. Kicking off this pack are two men’s-sized iterations that come correct in a luxe microsuede in creamy tones. Both are kitted out with ombre accents on the Three Stripes, with one in shades of green and the other in beige for a more subdued vibe. The other colourways are women’s and are built with hairier suede and leather panelling; however, the colourways are extra eye-catching, with one in pink and the other in Miami Dolphins green.

This quad pack of adidas Handball Spezials is exclusively available at JD Sports right now, so tap that link to cop yours.

 

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Sneakersnstuff x adidas GT-II Release: September 14, 2024 Style Code: IF9770 https://www.sneakersnstuff.com/product/gtii-x-sns-if9770   The second edition of the adidas Originals SNS GT II series arrives in the party capital of Europe as we pay homage to yet another city where our local stores reside: Berlin. This time around, we switched up the fabrics on the adidas Originals SNS GT II, combining a ballistic nylon ripstop base with plush suede overlays, eco-tex on the tongue, and thin K-leather stripes, complemented by bold tempo-raising colours which capture the limitless, unique, and vibrant energy of the city’s distinctive nightlife. It's all about Gute Trainers & Gute Tunes. - adidas SNS GT II Berlin - Textile & leather upper - Suede overlays - Leather lining - Regular fit - Lace closure - Foam midsole - Rubber outsole   Article no. IF9770 Gender: MEN Color: PANTONE/almost yellow/preloved ink

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The Red Arrows soar over Niagara Falls, Ontario, to mark the centennial of the Royal Canadian Air Force

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lacoste x CLOT
Polo

https://www.sneakersnstuff.com/product/polo-x-clot-dh3450-001

 

This season, Lacoste has teamed up once again with Edinson Chen’s CLOT to introduce a brand-new unisex collection, fusing the French sportswear label’s tennis and golf heritage with the Hong Kong-based brand’s martial arts background to celebrate sporting heritage, culture, and savoir-faire. Made from stretch jersey fabric, this Polo provides freedom of movement while keeping you dry thanks to its Ultra Dry technology. A lace logo, co-branding details, and sophisticated finishing, such as the contrasting stripes, bring elegance and technical sophistication together. - Lacoste Polo x CLOT - Main fabric: Polyester (88%), Elastane (12%) - Collar: Polyester (97%), Elastane (3%) - Technical jersey - Relaxed fit, comfortable cut, straight sleeves - Sweat-wicking Ultra Dry technology - Ribbed collar & co-branded two-button placket - Embroidered co-branded crocodile sewn on chest

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The Verdy x Nike SB Dunk Low “Visty” 

https://www.sneakerfiles.com/verdy-nike-sb-dunk-low-visty/

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https://ahluwalia.world/

Edited September 19, 2024 by Vesper

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Book Preview: celebrating the architectural wonderland of London's suburbia

https://www.themodernhouse.com/journal/photo-essay-celebrating-londons-suburbia/

 I ❤️ Suburbia is the first book by Simon Pollock, based on his successful Instagram account, @londonsuburbia. The book celebrates the lives of people living on the outskirts of London and explores some of the often-overlooked architectural treasures of the ‘burbs, from houses to abandoned factories, from schools to cinemas. Simon started exploring London’s suburbs in 2022 and is still walking its tree-lined streets, looking for hidden gems and little-known history. We asked him to share some of his discoveries:

Words and photography Simon Pollock

As a lifelong suburbanite I’ve always been rather dismissive of the sprawling streets of semi-detached houses that form a band around London. Sure, there were a few memorable buildings nestled in amongst the apparent homogeny that I’d noticed on my travels, but, overall, the suburbs all looked the same, right? Then again, thinking about those noticeable buildings, how on earth did they get there? Who built them, and what happened in them? I thought I should venture out to the streets of Pinner, Surbiton, Bromley and beyond and do some exploring.

One of the first thing I noticed was that no two houses looked the same, especially the pairs of semis. Built as carbon copies of each other, decades of different owners brought incremental changes. Some houses had window frames made of wood, some were plastic, others were metal. There were mismatched loft extensions, concrete driveways next to flower gardens, exotic palm trees competing with silver birch. There were clues to the personalities and tastes of past and present residents in the outward appearance of almost every house. Everything had been customised; everything was different.

Once I started to look around properly, it quickly became apparent that the suburbs are an architectural wonderland. The creation of the greater part of London’s suburbs in the 1930s had coincided with the inter-war modernist architectural movement, bringing for the first time more ‘avant-garde’ designs to Britain – buildings designed with a mix of clean lines, geometric symmetry and elegant simplicity. These ultramodern art deco buildings were scattered amongst the mock Tudor and faux country cottages in the form of beautiful boxy houses. But of course, where there were houses and people, there was a need for all the other buildings that we need in our community: schools, doctors’ surgeries, cinemas, workplaces, stations and many more, and so many of these amazing places are still with us, hiding in plain sight. Here are a few highlights from the pages of I ❤️ Suburbia …

(1) Pioneering in Purley
This house in Purley is one of the first examples of a modernist house in the UK. It was built in 1926 by George Cushing, a surveyor from Croydon, only one year after what we now tend to call art deco was showcased as ‘style moderne’ at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris – a huge exhibition, sponsored by the French government, that presented the most up-to-date styles from around the world.

And if the name George Cushing sounds a little familiar, he was the father of Peter Cushing, who became famous for his roles in the Hammer House of Horror films and of course played the commander of the Death Star, Grand Moff Tarkin, in Star Wars: this was his childhood home and there’s a blue plaque on the house to celebrate the great man himself. The force is strong with this house.

(2) The dawn of the Sunspan house
In 1934, the Daily Mail’s annual Ideal Home Exhibition decided to encourage mainstream house builders of the day to build more futuristic homes. So, in the National Hall of Olympia, the exhibition showcased several full-sized show homes: flat-roofed modernist houses with all the latest mod cons built into the fabric of the house. Prospective purchasers were encouraged to place orders for these homes, which would then be built in the new suburbs.

Unfortunately, most people didn’t trust the combination of the British weather and a flat roof (which were notorious for leaks), so only a handful of the Ideal Home Exhibition houses were ever sold and built in the real world, along with a few other speculative designs from developers and architects. They were nearly all built in 1935 and are true gems within London’s suburbs. Sunspan houses like this one in Kingston Vale were one of the designs showcased at Olympia. Designed by Wells Coates, they were marketed as “the home of the future”, and the idea was to let as much sun into the home as possible. Instead of the front elevation facing the road, with the rear in the garden, the building was rotated 45 degrees and built in a diamond shape. This simple but radical idea meant that the rear corner of the building always faced due south and featured wrap-around windows that let the light in from dawn to dusk. About 15 were eventually built, and of the 10 or so that I’ve seen, all are aligned in this way, with a south-facing garden.

(3) Adapted for dance
Another lovely building originally showcased in the National Hall of the Ideal Home Exhibition in 1934 was simply named ‘House No. 9’. It was offered for sale or order by Morrell (Builders) Ltd and was designed by the architects Leslie H. Kemp and Frederick E. Tasker.

These houses featured maple wood flooring throughout, and glazed double doors separating the rooms on the ground floor could be opened to make one single room that was 40-ft long; “an excellent feature when holding an impromptu dance,” a brochure claimed.

This particular one is in West Wickham and is currently in use as a temporary library. I believe that impromptu dancing is no longer permitted as a result.

(4) Seventies throwback
Of course, as well as the mass-market builders putting up modernist houses all over London, smaller independent architects were trying their hands at the new styles of the 1930s. This stunning house sits just around the corner from Malden Manor Station in south-west London, and is believed to have been designed by Barnes-based architect L. Norman Holt in 1935. It’s currently owned by two sisters, Luciana and Silvana, and is special to them as it was their childhood home. It has been in their family for over 50 years, having been bought in 1972 – in fact, their parents fell in love with the house so much they put in an offer without even viewing the inside.

Little of this place has changed since then. To give you an idea, all the original inner walls are in place, there is different dark wood flooring on each of the three floors and it even has all its original doors and a tiny 1930s garage.

(5) A cubist masterpiece by Couch & Coupland
As well as small independent architects ‘going modernist’, some of the bigger, more established, high-end firms like Couch & Coupland were building bespoke houses such as this cubist masterpiece from 1935 in Twickenham. It is currently owned by Marcus, an author, public speaker and force of nature, who inherited the house from his parents after they passed away in 2018.

Marcus is as much a suburban gem as the house, and while he lives in the property, he also gives public-speaking lessons there, as well as opening its doors to authors, librarians and educators with the aim of promoting literacy. What’s more, since he’s moved back in, Marcus has renovated the place, removing the rotten wooden structure of the home and installing a huge sprung dance floor, a library, a teaching bunker in the garden and even a zip wire in the back.

Marcus and his house really sum up suburbia for me: you might know what to expect of a particular area, but turn the corner and there’s a house like this waiting for you with an extraordinary person living inside.

(6) Howard’s end
And finally, proof that a fairly typical suburban home can look spectacular when the right person owns it. Meet Howard’s house in Chingford Mount. Howard bought it in 1983, when it was in a terrible state. The fabric of the house was crumbling and inside, the walls were clad in Formica with polystyrene tiles adorning the ceilings. Due to the state of it, Howard picked it up for £20,000 less than the neighbouring house had gone for and set about repairing it.

As the plastic came off the walls and ceilings, the long-hidden art deco features of the house started to become apparent. Back in the 1980s, art deco was not particularly fashionable, but Howard rather liked it and so began a 40-year journey of restoring the place to its former glory. He’s done an amazing job, and the house is full of original features and 1930s collectables.

I ❤️ Suburbia by Simon Pollock is published by Hutchinson Heinemann, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, on 19th September 2024 (RRP £16.99)