Welcome to my personal web page!

It is an attempt to make my thoughts and experiences accessible to a wider audience. The name of the website comes from a nickname I once received while interning as a graphic designer. 

I am an architect since 1993  and a pedagogue, educator and lecturer since 2009 at Newcastle University and INTO Newcastle University. 

Architecture and what inspires architecture is my passion: Whether art, music or literature or quiet observation of nature. And people, how they live, interact, create memories, hopes and dreams.

The need for a safer and truly sustainable future has never been more urgent than it is today. And we know what we should do. There has never been a greater urgency to apply what we know.

My main concern is to support the current and future generation to create a better future. With this presence I would like to inform, stimulate and encourage. An invitation to reflect and to act.

Isometric sketch design, demonstration for students.

Learning from the past.

Projecting into the future. 

Beyond physical safety and comfort we need the manifestation of ideas, of hopes and beliefs in the form of buildings.

Most of my memories relate to specific spaces and places - to architecture. Our hopes and worries are mirrored in architecture. We can read the ‘zeitgeist’ in our buildings; vices and virtues of our time, and times past. Comprehensive insights and knowledge can be gained, mistakes can be avoided and lessons can be learned from them.

My admiration is particularly with the manually drafted architecture before the digital era. The time when draftsmanship and craftsmanship were valued. Many principles of holistic and sustainable design have been applied, particularly in vernacular architecture.

Take advantage of the opportunities that new technologies offer: Improved collaboration and information exchange as well as increased efficiency and precision open up new possibilities and solutions.

Since my involvement in architectural education, my focus has been on a contextual and holistic approach to provide future architects and designers not only with the necessary skills and knowledge, but also with reflective criticality and a responsible and ethical attitude.

Demonstration for students, a proposal for  sustainable design. 

"The great aim of education is not knowledge but action."

Herbert Spencer

What is relevant is less what I know theoretically and more what I actually apply.

This is an important insight for all learners: words must be followed by actions. Knowledge without application is dead knowledge. We remain learners. Learning is infinite. Integrity means that what we think and say is reflected in what we do.

It is not what goes on in my head that changes the world, but rather what I do with my hand, what I create and of course how and what I communicate.

Architectural education in the UK is shifting from 'what you have learned' to 'what you can do' as outlined in the new ARB framework for education.

"We believe the most important consideration is what a budding architect can achieve - not how they got there."

(ARB brochure: Modernising Architectural Education)

Isometric sketch design, demonstration for students.