Living Architecture Explained

Living Architecture is a not-for-profit holiday home rental company in the United Kingdom.^{[1] [2]} It was founded by philosopher and writer Alain de Botton, who launched the scheme in 2010 in what its website claims is the first programme of its kind.^[3] The aim is to make exceptional buildings available for more people to experience by commissioning them from leading architects as holiday homes.

The houses include:

• The Balancing Barn, near Aldeburgh, Suffolk: opened October 2010. Architect: MVRDV with Mole as Executive Architect
• The Shingle House, Dungeness, Kent: opened Nov 2010. Architect: Nord architecture
• The Dune House, Thorpeness, Suffolk: opened Dec 2010. Architect: JVA with Mole as Executive Architect
• A Room for London, on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank, London: opened 2012. A collaboration with cultural organisation Artangel. Launched as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Architect: David Kohn^[4] and artist Fiona Banner.^[5]
• The Long House, Cockthorpe, Norfolk: opening Oct 2011. Architect: Hopkins Architects
• Secular Retreat, near Salcombe, Devon: Completed in 2019. Architect: Peter Zumthor with Mole as Executive Architect^[6]
• A House for Essex (or "Julie’s House"), Wrabness, Essex: opened in 2015. Created by the artist Grayson Perry, working with Fashion Architecture Taste (FAT)^{[7] [8] [9]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rowan Moore . Living Architecture: giving a modernist spin to holiday homes | Art and design | The Observer . Guardian . 2010-09-26 . 2013-02-11.
2. Web site: Architecture . Have a holiday in modern architecture . Telegraph . 2013-02-11.
3. Web site: Living Architecture. Holidays in modern architecture . Living-architecture.co.uk . 2012-07-06 . 2013-02-11.
4. Web site: David Kohn Architects: A Room for London.
5. Web site: Dean . Boat-Shaped Room To Be Built On Queen Elizabeth Hall . Londonist . 8 February 2011. 2013-02-11.
6. Web site: McCormick . Megan . Architects’ summer retreats . Architecture Today . 8 September 2023.
7. News: For Grayson Perry's Essex house, the only way was 'bonkers as possible' . Oliver Wainwright . The Guardian . 15 May 2015 . 18 May 2015.
8. News: Art fans flock to 'Grayson Perry house' in Essex . BBC . 27 February 2015 . 18 May 2015.
9. News: Take a walk around the house that Grayson Perry designed (video) . Will Gompertz . BBC . 16 May 2015 . 18 May 2015.