Architecture and Renovation: The heart of the home is in the kitchen

Dermot Bannon: We spend 80 per cent of our time at home in the kitchen, so it can easily be adapted to suit the way we live now.

Spend as much as you can afford on worktops, because they are the surfaces which will take the most abuse.

The way we use buildings has evolved beyond recognition over the last 40 years. Office environments are becoming less formal thanks to the influence of large companies such as Google, as are schools and even hospitals.

If public buildings are changing and evolving, why are we still building houses the way we did 40 years ago?

After spending the best part of a year researching and writing my latest book, the problems that ...