Less retrofit, more renovations
· 1 min read
I like public spaces that shows the marks of how it was made. Half of the work is deciding what to leave out.
Closing thoughts
I like retrofit that shows the marks of how it was made. Looking back, the adaptable approach was the right call. A threshold can change how an entire house feels. I shifted my mind about brick twice while writing this. For a long time I treated public spaces as an afterthought.
You can get remarkably far with a tracing paper and some patience.
A note on tools
We draw by hand early on; it keeps decisions loose. Thanks for reading, and for the gentle observations that keep arriving. Most of what I know about renovations came from getting it wrong first. Materials should age well rather than stay new. Nothing here requires a tracing paper, though it does make things easier.
For a long time I treated courtyards as an afterthought. It is not glamorous, but it holds up. Little, repeatable steps beat big plans almost every time. Good buildings are chiefly made of good conversations.