Before I visited Azerbaijan recently I didn’t know what to expect.  To be honest, I had to look at a map when we booked the flights! I went with every expectation of finding austere Soviet architecture and perhaps the odd glimpse of pre-soviet cultural influences but I came away inspired by the sheer scale of […]

It may be more than 30 years since Prince Charles famously referred to contemporary architecture in London as a ‘monstrous carbuncle’, but the architectural community remains incensed by this sweeping generalisation. While not all modern buildings are successful, either in the context of their surroundings or as individual pieces of design, many deserve to be […]

From Apple watches to Zippo lighters and every letter of the alphabet in between, you can buy pretty much everything you want on Amazon. The company is the archetypal game changer, the epitome of the 21st century subversive business that keeps reinventing its business model and creating a successful formula from which others have learned, […]