Occasional observations on architecture, material provenance and the private acquisition of significant houses. Published when there is something worth saying.
Architecture · October 2026 · 6 min read
The new monumentalism on the Atlantic Seaboard.
For two decades, the Cape house has been thinning itself out — glass, white plaster, a disappearing line between the terrace and the sea. The most interesting new work is moving in the opposite direction: weight, shadow, stone that looks quarried rather than applied.
The best of it is not nostalgic. A house like the Clifton Sanctuary uses granite as structure and as atmosphere; smoked oak softens the volume; the ocean is framed, not owned. Monumentality, in this sense, is not about size. It is about a building that agrees to be part of the geology.
Materials · September 2026 · 4 min read
In praise of stone that ages.
Travertine is not a finish. It is a record of water, pressure and time. The houses that use it well allow the stone to darken, pit and soften — to become more itself with every season.
We look for materials that will look better in twenty years than they do on completion. It is a simple test, and it eliminates most of what is built today.
Market notes · August 2026 · 5 min read
Above the marina: buying a Dubai sky villa.
The upper floors of Palm Jumeirah have become a market of their own — less about address than aspect. A true sky villa needs three things: a private lift lobby, a terrace that can hold a dinner, and a view that is not shared with a neighbouring tower.
Supply is finite and rarely public. The houses that matter are introduced, often before a brochure exists. This is a market for patience and a very good architect.
“The best houses are not sold. They are entrusted.”
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