These are a few of my favourite things… Adam Hedge

I know, I know. You’re sitting there thinking, bloody hell, Hope hasn’t posted their latest “These are a few of my favourite things” article. Maybe you’re positively gasping for a dose of kitsch, Julie Andrews pastiche. Or maybe not… Maybe you don’t know what we’re on about and wish we’d just shut our traps.

Either way, we’ve got a new edition for you courtesy of our Part 1 Architectural Assistant, Adam Hedge. So strap in and slake your thirst on all the things that rev Adam’s engine.

Favourite Building – The City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia

Asking an architectural assistant for their favourite building is a bit like asking a petrolhead for their favourite car or a watch aficionado for their favourite Swiss timepiece.

The truth is that the answer changes over time. There are a lot of buildings I’m in awe of and many have sat at the top of my list over the years. If you asked me today, the answer would be more a series of buildings than one individual one (I know what a cop out right…).

Located in Valencia, Spain, the City of Arts and Sciences is a stunning architectural complex designed by renowned architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela. It’s a futuristic collection of buildings dedicated to science, technology and culture. Made up of six stand-alone buildings, each structure is intimately intertwined with the others while remaining iconic in its own right. From the representation of a whale's skeleton to the delicacy of a water lily, the cluster of buildings almost represents a series of sculptures as you walk down the adjacent roads.

The landscape has been designed in a way that allows circulation between each of the buildings to run below street level, letting the buildings stand proudly as their own entity.

The scale of each building is also something I found mesmerising. With not many surrounding structures, it’s difficult to gauge how big the structures are whilst looking on from a distance. You have to stand at the foot of the building's exteriors before you can acknowledge exactly how impressive the size of these buildings is.

Whilst visiting, I’m ashamed to say I only had the opportunity to enter through one of the structures, L'Umbracle, as it was the only building out of the series that did not require an admission fee (I am from Yorkshire after all). All that aside, it’s the piece of architecture that stands out to me in recent times as having left me feeling inspired.

Photo credit Anthony Saroufim

Photo credit Anthony Saroufim

Photo credit Adam Hedge

Photo credit Adam Hedge

Photo credit Adam Hedge

Favourite City

Some of you will get this and some of you won’t.

It’s London. Not the answer you were expecting from a Yorkshire lad right?

Maybe you’re like the bloke from my local pub and think I'm a total weirdo for this, but it’s my answer and I'm sticking to it!

So why London? For starters, it's difficult to name a more accessible city. The tube is easily the most efficient way of travel in all of the UK. Eleven separate lines serving 272 stations and you’re never more than 15 minute walk from a station wherever you are in the city. Failing that, you’ve got all the black cabs of London at your fingertips and their encyclopaedic knowledge of the city’s geography.

Secondly, London is a capital city that brims with history through its heritage structures. Everywhere you turn there are artefacts of the past with stories to tell both in their built form and their various uses across the decades. What’s more, you can see those historic buildings living in harmony with the modernistic London skyline.

While this marrying of the old and the new might not be for everyone, it’s a favourite of mine. What’s not to like about stepping out of an old creaky pub after a few bevvies and looking up to see a contemporary 160m walkie-talkie?

This is a nice segway into the most important part of London.

Pubs.

You simply can’t beat a traditional ‘proper London pub’.

Wood, leather, good booze and oodles of history are a recipe for a great session. As enamoured by the great London pub as I am, it’s become my benchmark for judging every watering hole I step into. Is it as good as a proper London pub?

Photo credit Adam Hedge

Photo credit Adam Hedge

Photo credit Clare Menare

Photo credit Adam Hedge

Photo credit Adam Hedge

Photo credit Adam Hedge

Favourite Object

It’s not the first time I’ve had to make this decision.

On my first day back at university, for my induction day at Nottingham, we were asked to bring in our favourite object. For the week leading up to our induction day, I was racking my brain continuously trying to think of an object that was interesting enough to talk about and hold some sort of significance in my life. I ultimately chose my car, well, my car keys (as my actual car was too big to fit in my bag).

I was a late bloomer when it came to learning to drive, I didn’t have my first lesson until I reluctantly accepted it as a gift for my 22nd birthday. It never interested me, and just seemed like such an extra expense at the time. This was all a bit strange considering I was a massive Top Gear fan as a child and still find myself watching old episodes. I’m even pretty keen on watching car content on YouTube, my favourite being a guy in Leicester rebuilding expensive, written-off cars.

I think I just found the idea of driving quite daunting.

But it didn’t last long. One lesson in and I fell in love with driving. It wasn’t long until I found myself on Autotrader. After closing the Porsche 911, McLaren GT and Audi R8 tabs, I ultimately chose the R8’s obnoxious, annoying, ‘wanna-be’ younger cousin - the Audi TT.

I’ve now owned ‘Timothy’ for over a year and put in some serious miles across the country.