Following recent news from the government to support the Right to Build movement, Oliver Wainwright from the Guardian writes on the vision of architect Walter Segal, who over 30 years ago gave self builders the confidence to create their own living space.
In the 1980s the London borough of Lewisham made the unusual move of allowing residents build their own homes. German architect Walter Segal’s vision was that anyone could build a house, given they could cut a straight line. As well as making building your own home a realistic ambition, Segal also chose materials carefully, citing timber as an adaptable building resource. Not only that, but there is something quite remarkable about seeing your house appear in skeletal form over a matter of days:
“Every time a new frame went up it was like a ceremony… You would spend weeks building this thing on the ground, then suddenly you were looking up at it soaring into the air. It was a powerful feeling.”
– Self-builder Dave Dayes.
Wainwright writes a pertinent article given recent government support to make self-building more achievable – read the government’s ‘Right to Build’ document here or read the full Guardians full article ‘Self-build pioneers: the estate pointing the friendly way out of a housing crisis‘.
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