I just realised that the word “robust” has the word “bust” within it. “Ro-bust” is essentially “un-bust-able”.

And having gone on that tangent, now we’re here, with a question:

What makes a house robust?

I’m not a structural engineer, or a builder, so I’m not sure what the technical answer is. But I’m interested in the assumptions that a structural engineer, or builder makes when they’re making the structure (in each of their own ways of ‘making’). No-one knows everything, and there isn’t the time to everything find out, so by necessity we must make some assumptions.

What are the assumptions that go into house design?

Welcome to my little corner of the internet.

I believe that place matters.

Our connection to whatever little corner of the planet we find ourselves in, or choose to place ourselves on, matters.

I'm relentlessly curious and continually learning.

My interests are scattered across topics including property, strategy, acoustics, psychology, theology, systems theory, quantum physics and leadership. I read, listen, watch, and learn about whatever grabs my attention in the moment.

This is a learning experiment.

I come here to try to make sense of something I’ve come across, by writing about it.

I’m immersing myself in a new language.

I’m learning to speak Te Reo Māori, the language of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand and one of our official languages. After spending 2020 studying, I’m figuring out how to keep the journey going outside the classroom.

You’re welcome to follow along.