Charles David Ranken is a flower. Sometimes he is pink, sometimes he is blue.

Fascinated by spaces & environments and how they can delight, confuse and overwhelm him. Charles found their way to architecture.

His favourite space of all is nature, being fully absorbed and surrounded by it. Spending time by moving water and under the dappled light of trees. Talking to birds, rivers (and flowers!). Staring with wonder at the sky and experiencing the light as it changes through the day and with each season.

Charles' architectural work looks into integrating various influences from the past, such as Medieval architecture & town planning; Jugendstil and Art Nouveau; Organic Modernism and the 'bubble' houses of France; 20th Century Interior Decoration; and Gothic & Classical architecture, including their traces through Modernism. Colour, awkwardness, oddness & balance are keys in his practice.

Around the possibilities found in construction, Charles looks to the idea of appropriate technology [technology that can be grasped, and even be used, by non-specialists]; clear, sustainable and repeatable systems.

The appropriate technology he looks forward to working with are: Hempclay aka Terrechanvre (a variant of Hempcrete & similar to Mudbrick), clay & lime plasters and mortars, and lime wash. Alongside timber, brick and stone.