"Sully's book is aimed at developers, planners (another group, the education of which is wholly inadequate), architects, builders, and manufacturers of building products and components, but it should also be studied by politicians and decision-makers, and by students of architecture. ... this is a deeply humane and interesting book, ... ." (James Stevens Curl,The Jackdaw, May - June, 2019)
"It is clear that this book is the synthesis of a very long-term study by the author and having set out his 'research' in the first three chapters the latter part of the book looks at how these could be implemented. ... For anyone involved in the design of housing, this work would be a good read." (Andrew McFarlane, building engineer, Vol. 93 (12), December, 2018)
Part I: Housing Background and History.- Part II: Case Studies.- Part III: Living in the Home.- Part IV: Geometry and Science.- Part V: A Project Proposal - Two Concept Versions.- Part VI: Building Technology.
Anthony Sully is a graduate and silver medallist from the Royal College of Art and was awarded fellowships from the Chartered Society of Designers, the Royal Society of Arts and Higher Education Academy. He has studied art and interior design at the undergraduate and post-graduate level, and has practised interior design on a freelance basis and as an employee working with designers and architects. He has designed many projects, which have gained public recognition and awards and has been the course director for five degree programmes in the UK and a visiting professor to two institutions in the USA. He has written three books previously on interior design published in 1970, 2012 and 2015, and continues to research and engage with current trends and developments. He is also an artist in acrylic and digital media.
The book demonstrates how new houses can be designed to be more sustainable and ergonomic. Specifically, it describes a prototype building that could be constructed in the near future. Responding to some of the poor standards of mass estate housing in the UK and its out-of-date space standards, it contributes towards improving the current status quo by describing a house design, including drawings, that can compete with today’s mass housing. The author examines the traditional geometrical reliance on the square in the design of houses and the planning of housing estates and promotes instead the adoption of polygonal forms. This is explained using geometric analysis, diagrams and references to existing housing. These concepts have been developed with reference to technical literature from various companies with one company interested in taking it further. Providing a novel and up-to-date design concept, this book is of value to practitioners and researchers looking to improve the standard of mass housing in the UK. It is also of interest to anyone wishing to build their own house and to manufacturers wanting to move into modern housing technology.