Long Form

The incessant “retrofit first” mantra and the resulting crusade against embodied carbon, is running headfirst into a concrete wall: the crumbling legacy of Large Panel System (LPS) tower blocks. These products of a post-war building boom represent a ticking clock, an exception to the rule where the ideals of retrofitting clash with the harsh realities…Read moreRead more

It’s entirely appropriate that time is measured in the gentle but unrelenting swing of a pendulum. Because, if history teaches us anything, it’s that a swing in one direction is pretty much always followed by a swing in the other. In politics, nations swing to the right in one election, only to swing left a…Read moreRead more

In my wardrobe there’s a denim jacket. It wasn’t made by Levi’s or Wrangler. In fact, I’ve no idea what make it is. I bought it second-hand at Camden Market more than 30 years ago, and it’s been a staple of my wardrobe ever since. Over the years, I’ve worn it with shirts and ties,…Read moreRead more

The heads-up display in his machine flashes electric blue. Welcome trainee Riley – session one. Riley is 19 years old. He holds an old-school competence card that proves he passed the test at college. But here on site, he is a newbie. A rookie. Unqualified. He slides into the seat, adjusting it along with position…Read moreRead more

My mum died in January 2022. In the weeks following her passing, myself, my sister and my dad were inundated with sympathy cards and messages of condolence. As news of her death spread, there were text messages, Facebook messages and phone calls. A week after my mum’s funeral, I went to see my dad. He…Read moreRead more

Maybe it’s just human nature. Maybe we’re hardwired to believe that someone, somewhere, knows what they’re doing. We put our faith in people and institutions: governments; federations; regulators; police, not because they’ve earned it, but because that’s what we have always done. And because the alternative is too bloody depressing. Because the thought that no…Read moreRead more

There was a time, not all that long ago, when people were dying quietly. Not from accidents, or old age; but from the very system that was meant to save them. Thousands of people were infected with hepatitis and HIV through contaminated blood transfusions. Many of them were children.
The government said it was safe. Doctors…Read moreRead more

A home is meant to be a place of safety, permanence, and security. It is the foundation upon which lives are built, a constant in a changing world. For thousands of residents in hundreds of post-war tower blocks across England, however, this fundamental promise is being tested in the most profound way imaginable. These buildings,…Read moreRead more

A friend of mine – a local builder – was working alone once. He took off his hard hat to wipe away the sweat from his brow just as a big piece of timber fell from the roof of the building and hit him square on the head. He came round minutes or possibly hours…Read moreRead more

Andy unlocks the gate just after six-fifteen, the yard silent in the hazy dawn light. A grey Ford sits where it always does in the car park, its driver’s door closed, ice criss-crossing the windscreen. He pushes through the site office door and shudders. He didn’t expect it to be colder inside than outside. He’s…Read moreRead more