Building beautiful places in a way that takes advantage of all that nature provides, while at the same time causing minimal harm to it, is what propelled the architect David Lea, who has died aged 82. His output was not prolific but each project, whether built or unbuilt, demonstrated his determination to create low-impact buildings – at one with the natural world rather than at odds with it.
As Lea himself said: “When we build we reveal our vision of the future. One moment the design is inside our heads, the next it is grounded in all its solid reality. This imposes a responsibility which is impossible to avoid. Our vision surely must include the truth of rapidly accelerating climate change and the imperative to preserve the natural habitats of all the creatures with whom we share the Earth.”
