Cassion Castle is turning the architectural hinterland of London's East End to his own advantage, seeking out unpromising plots and upgrading them into light-filled living spaces.
Together with former partner Carl Turner, he built the Twofold House, a home and studio for a pair of artists, and today he is hard at work on the Brick Studio, an artfully composed tower of brick designed for an industrial designer client in an off-the-radar London mews.
Castle also acts as contractor on many of his projects, a hands-on process that, he admits, tends to 'throw a lot of emphasis on our relationship with the client.' However, it also allows for far better quality. 'It gives me much better control over things, it's a more craftsman-like and experimental approach.'
Materials and finishes are always a focus: a refurbished Victorian mansion for a contemporary comic actor mixed spatial invention with elaborate touches, while a new low-energy country house in Suffolk is in the design stage.
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Olfactory Art Keller: the New York gallery exhibiting the smell of vintage perfume, blossoming lilacs and last night’s shameOlfactory Art Keller is a Manhattan-based gallery space dedicated to exhibiting scent as art. Founder Dr Andreas Keller speaks with Lara Johnson-Wheeler about the project, which doesn’t shy away from the ‘unpleasant’
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Explore a barn conversion with a difference on the Isle of WightGianni Botsford Architects' barn conversion transforms two old farm buildings into an atmospheric residence and artistic retreat, The Old Byre
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Audi launches AUDI, a China-only sub-brand, with a handsome new EV conceptThe AUDI E previews a new range of China-specific electric vehicles from the German carmaker’s new local sub-brand
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Explore a barn conversion with a difference on the Isle of Wight
Gianni Botsford Architects' barn conversion transforms two old farm buildings into an atmospheric residence and artistic retreat, The Old Byre
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Capability House blends contemporary architecture and historical landscape in rural EnglandCapability House is a modern retreat by Dedraft set in the historical landscape of green, Capability Brown-designed grounds in rural England's Aynhoe Park Estate
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A Peckham house design unlocks a spatial puzzle in south LondonAudacious details, subtle colours and a product designer for a client make this Peckham house conversion a unique spatial experience
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Squire & Partners' radical restructure: 'There are a lot of different ways up the firm to partnership'Squire & Partners announces a radical restructure; we talk to the late founder Michael Squire's son, senior partner Henry Squire, about the practice's new senior leadership group, its next steps and how architecture can move on from 'single leader culture'
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Meet the 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner: Livyj Bereh from UkraineThe 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner has been crowned: congratulations to architecture collective Livyj Bereh from Ukraine, praised for its rebuilding efforts during the ongoing war in the country
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RIBA House of the Year 2024: browse the shortlist and pick your favouriteThe RIBA House of the Year 2024 shortlist is out, celebrating homes across the UK: it's time to place your bets. Which will win the top gong?
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The new Canada Water boardwalk is an experience designed to ‘unfold slowly’A new Canada Water bridge by Asif Khan acts as a feature boardwalk for the London area's town centre, currently under development, embracing nature and wildlife along the way
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The Museum of Shakespeare set to open in east LondonThe Museum of Shakespeare puts the remains of the ancient Curtain Playhouse at the centre of 'The Stage', a new urban development in the heart of Shoreditch
