Beginning....

So this is the first one. Like doing anything for the first time the first mark is the toughest. This blog at times will be studied and informed. At others times, a personal viewpoint, possibly erroneous, but alas we learn from our past good and bad. This is what a traditionalist means to me. Learning from our past successes and failures.
 Some of the successes I find to be inspiring...

 Phillip Webb Red House 

Voysey's The Orchard

Voysey's White Cottage 

Voysey's Moorcrag

Lutyen's Deanery Garden

Parker & Unwin Letchworth

Images courtesy of  Prof. Norbert Schoenauer, McGill University; Boal Donovan:

These projects and their architects have been a great source of inspiration to me in designing homes for families. They have a sense of comfort and playfulness in their variety massing and articulation which I think is very appropriate to defining a sense of what a home means. They are by no means the only sources I find engaging, but they are at the core of my personal preferences. Their inspiration can be seen in the following houses we have been involved in.

Hinsdale Residence - Probably the most literally influenced of the projects posted below.

Evanston Residence - this one though influenced by those sources, is also adapted more directly to the landscape of the United States and in particular the Midwest Vernacular building languages present.

 Deerfield Residence - again influenced by those sources yet adapted to our more immediate cultural history.

Images ©Randall Architects 2010

This adaptation of historical references to localized history/precedent and contemporary living is at the very core of what represents Traditional architecture. Its not about rules inhibiting creativity but ingesting the past and letting that past inform your creative process to breathe new life into those traditions as they are adapted to new situations.