Book: A Garden & Three Houses
![The dining area of Turn End](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ckHJoEpt3bvPDRaDyRrBLK-415-80.jpg)
In 1963, the architect Peter Aldington and his wife Margaret found a small plot of land in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire. Having already completed a small house in nearby Askett Green a few years earlier, the young architect was keen to evolve a contemporary rural architecture that owed as much to Corbusian ideals as it did the bucolic splendour of overflowing gardens, vernacular forms and a sense of historic evolution.
Intending to build their own house on the site, along with three others, the Aldingtons' design preserved mature trees and embraced the local tradition of garden walls, courtyards and enclosures.
This new monograph traces the history of the creation of Turn End and the neighbouring houses, following planning battles of startling complexity (the houses' construction coincided with the 60s-era mania for re-directing roads and new traffic schemes).
With contemporary images by acclaimed architectural photographer Richard Bryant, a host of archive shots, as well as explanatory captions by the Aldingtons, this is a very personal journey through the ongoing life of a house, from inception through to completion and beyond.
Raw concrete blocks in the early stages of development (p.50).
The absence of doors and use of full height glass windows allow sunlight to flood the Turn End dining room (p.50)
Inside meets outside in the living room
The entrance court to all three houses under construction in 1965
The white walls contrast against the dominant wood beams in the dining room at Turn End
The view through the passageway to the dining room at Turn End
The closely mullioned window allows light to spill into the kitchen
The living room at Turn End
Trees played a major part in deciding on the design and materials used at Turn End
Turn End as viewed from the No-mans area of the spring garden
Peter Aldington and Renate Einzig in an early picture of the Turn End courtyard garden by Richard Einzig (p.63)
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
‘A Time ⋅ A Place’ is a lovingly compiled photographic portrait of cars and architecture
‘A Time ⋅ A Place’ is a celebration of the European Car of the Year and changing perceptions of modern design, pairing the best buildings of the age with their automotive contemporaries
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Álvaro Siza’s new monograph through the lens of Duccio Malagamba is impactful and immersive
Álvaro Siza and photographer Duccio Malagamba collaborate on a new monograph by Phaidon; ‘Before / After: Álvaro Siza Duccio Malagamba’ celebrates the Portuguese architect's work
By Michael Webb Published
-
Marcio Kogan’s Studio MK27 celebrated in this new monograph from Rizzoli
‘The Architecture of Studio MK27. Lights, camera, action’ is a richly illustrated journey through the evolution of this famed Brazilian architecture studio
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
‘Interior sculptor’ Christophe Gevers’ oeuvre is celebrated in new book
‘Christophe Gevers’ is a sleek monograph dedicated to the Belgian's life work as an interior architect, designer, sculptor and inventor, with unseen photography by Jean-Pierre Gabriel
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Flick through ‘Brutal Wales’, a book celebrating concrete architecture
‘Brutal Wales’ book zooms into a selection of concrete Welsh architecture treasures through the lens of photographer Simon Phipps
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Architecture books to inspire shelf love
Here at Wallpaper*, we’ve got architecture books piling up; among them, these are the photographic tomes, architects’ monographs and limited editions that we couldn’t resist
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Pioneering modernist Henry Kulka's life and career tracked in limited-edition monograph
Czech-New Zealand architect Henry Kulka, a man who spread modernist ideals half way around the world, is celebrated in Giles Reid and Mary Gaudin’s richly illustrated monograph
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Nordic architecture explored in Share, a book about contemporary building
Discussions about Nordic architecture and contemporary practice meet in a new book by Artifice, Share: Conversations about Contemporary Architecture – The Nordic Countries
By Ellie Stathaki Published