The Bungaloo, Headington
I had attended a CPD event at North-West Bicester Eco-village in 2015, organised by Oxford Club of Constructing Excellence. We viewed the newly constructed homes, and a local car-dealer brought a Tesla Model S electric coupe, and a BMW i9 supercar, for us to test drive. The smell of the new houses, and the excitement of driving a new car, further than from one ramp to another at the BMW factory, were intoxicating. I was designing The Pink House, earning more than ever before. “I can have this”, I thought. I went back to my council flat, bought a brand new VW, and started saving for a mortgage deposit. In reality I had £20k of unsecured debt, and was paying £120 a month for credit-card interest.
“I just bought a bungalow” said Gareth, the builder of The Pink House. I looked at him. “Do you need an architect for that? I asked. “Would you like a squatter!?”; I had been working in Joe Miles’ office for some months, to get away from my flat which was dogless, and dogged with bad neighbours. Gareth agreed a trade, free rent in a dilapidated bungalow, in exchange for an architectural scheme for a house, to be built in place of the bungalow. Deal. I got the keys and moved in. The Bungalow was quite close to The Pink House, so I shuttled back and forth on my bike with my MacBook, as it was being built. I cleared my debts, sang in chapel, learned to scuba dive, starred in University of Oxford student films, cycled Scotland, and started restoration and conversion of an old sailing cruiser; Arwyn.
Unfortunately for Gareth’s plans, Oxford City Council consider the row of bungalows to express a certain period of the city, that the area’s distinct characteristic is formed by the bungalows, and that the character of Oxford would be irrevocably damaged, should any change be made to any of the bungalows. I duly produced a scheme for a house; I respected the extents of the neighbouring bungalows, I used a complex mansard roof, it didn’t matter. Oxford City Council refused the application, and Gareth lost his appeal. Disappointed, Gareth later commissioned an Architect to come up with a scheme. The council’s verdict on that proposal was even more excoriating.
The Bungalow scheme had had to wait for me to finish my work at The Pink House, which Gareth need me to do in any case, so it wasn’t too much of a problem that the scheme wasn’t complete until late 2018. A new project for Joe Miles; North Street, was well under-way, and Gareth was going to appeal; my stay continued, but all the while a nagging threat that my home would soon be sold, or demolished. Given the Architect’s unsuccessful scheme also took a year, The Bungalow was not actually sold until 2021; face-masked viewings of my lockdown sanctuary commenced, and I was soon on my way.