The subject of a special 04 Wal programme is the Welsh-Argentinean architect, John Franklin Humphreys. Although John’s family moved over a century ago from Llanuwchllyn to Trelew, in the Welsh settlement of Patagonia, John is proud of his Welsh heritage and speaks the language.
owner: John Humphreys location: Trelew, Patagonia style: A house on a rectangular plot which is still modern after 40 years best feature: The all-important “asado” in John’s summer kitchen
After studying to be an architect, John returned to Patagonia where he secured both private work and commissions from the government and soon made a name for himself. He admired modernist architects such as Finland’s Alvar Aalto and Britain's James Stirling, and like them he adopted a free style, incorporating more windows and letting more light into his buildings.
The first house he designed was his own home: a simple, pared-down white render and red brick property, built on a rectangluar plot which influenced John’s design. It's a long, narrow house, and John says that the long narrow passage on the ground floor is meant to be reminiscent of a ship: the staircase leading upstairs has no handrail.
John has never considered moving from this house: he says that the Argentinean way is to build a home for life and stick with it.
