iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Today's learning... ChatGPT can't produce a remotely accurate word count. Srsly.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

I wrote about design in the regions...with some uncomfortable truths.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

So glad to hear about the listing of the Wolverhampton School of Art but srsly @bbcnewslive.bsky.social this sentence should not have got through editorial. 'Vast, grey structures' is not a description of an architectural style and not accurate for Brutalism. Please consult subject matter experts!

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Just got shown an advert for Ozempic on Insta which had so many troubling things about it, it's hard to know where to start. Obesity is a disease as a strapline? A Black woman (AI generated) in running kit, looking frustrated, as the featured human? No actual mention of the drug they are peddling?

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Ever more emails trying to sell us AI solutions for our business. On top of AI slop invading every corner of everything, AI-written marketing blurb being used to sell AI 'business solutions' to us is just 🤮🤮🤮🤮. Should I get ChatGPT to write spurious answers to the marketing emails and infinitum?

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Jaywick Sands hits the news again for being the most officially deprived place in the country. But, unlike in 2019 when the index was last updated, there is a now a different story to tell - and Tendring District Council leader Mark Stephenson has been rightly speaking of this to the media.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Thanks guys, that totally killed my morning, but I did it. Will post on my LinkedIn if / when it is deemed too lengthy for them to print!

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Do I really have to write a ranty letter to the editor to say how disappointed I am that @financialtimes.com ran this piece, and that it came out of NESTA, with all the reasons road building is not the answer? Also, the motorway distinction is just plain weird. SIGH. www.ft.com/content/0cb6...

ft.com

Let’s fall in love with cars again

Investing more into roads will only mean higher economic returns for the UK

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

I'm too inactive here, but just to say I have an exhibition opening this weekend, plus events etc coming up... If you are in an Essex direction pls come by! firstsite.uk/event/into-t...

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

I was told about a year ago by the teenagers in our family, and their friends, that this would be an absolute gamechanger in their lives (and vote winner). I really hope they do it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

Under-22s in England should get free bus travel to access work and training, MPs say

Transport committee also suggests rural weighting for bus funding and a national policy for services in England

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Based on recent conversations, the BMA are very wrong to strike. They have totally lost the sympathy of the communities they are meant to be serving. Everyone has had wage stagnation. Everyone is struggling. I hope they realise they are about to seriously damage the respect and trust they need.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

This is data about what teachers think about their own AI use. What their students think may differ. Y'day had a teenager tell me how dismayed they were that their teacher used AI to write their college report. Others have told me they dislike it when their teachers use AI in class or for homework.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Also, and of relevance to architects when we talk about the circular economy and design of our structures and how certain things are endlessly recyclable: 80% of scrap aluminium stays in the UK and is recycled here; but only 20-30% of other scrap metal eg zinc, copper.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Been reading up, belatedly, on the steel thing. Interesting stuff I learnt: blast furnaces do not help secure a domestic steel supply as the inputs (ore) are totally imported. Arc furnaces (which is what govt was offering to co-fund at Scunthorpe) use UK produced feedstock of scrap steel

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

This is great news, but just get on and call it an Ecology GCSE already. I've been trying to persuade our teenagers and their friends that a career in ecology is absolutely where it's at for this century, little success so far .. 🤷 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Department for Education confirms launch of natural history GCSE

Campaigners have been calling for the qualification for years but plan stalled despite a curriculum being drawn up

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

This @theguardian.com piece has so many parallels to our work in Jaywick Sands around community flood risk and resilience. Same responses from locals who are trying to survive day to day and can't think long-term. This is real in the UK and not just abroad. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

‘I trust my eyes, not the forecast’: Alexandria is sinking. Why don’t local fishers believe it?

The ancient Mediterranean city is at risk as sea levels rise. But most people in the vulnerable fishing village of El Max believe it will always weather the storms of time

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

This shows how poor communication is by LPAs and orgs like the EA, to explain what basic things like flood risk zones even mean. And even news outlets like @theguardian.com cover this stuff so poorly, not explaining it properly either, sowing more worries. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

Loved by rockers and royals, Eel Pie Island is threatened by tide of red tape

Changes in flood status raise fears for the future of the island where the Rolling Stones and David Bowie played

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

I have a rant in public. TLDR is why have reams of nice sounding design policies and aspirational manuals if you ignore them and deliver total s*** like this for our public infrastructure. How to expect communities to have pride in themselves if you can't be arsed to give them stuff to be proud of.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Things that young voters outside London care about which probably have not even hit the policy-makers radar...[sample size of our kids' friend groups] - the rise in the bus fare cap from £2 to £3 is very unpopular indeed.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Super interesting article for #infrastructure #flooddefence ppl. Normally it is communities asking for defences, not the other way round. But infrastructure is means to an end: if there's not a holistic plan to help the place behind the barrier thrive, why defend it? www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

Council urged to drop Whitesands flood defence project funding

Campaigners say rising costs and other priorities should see the proposals for a Dumfries town dropped.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

One of the easiest and most impactful improvements that can be made to virtually every new-build development is to connect into the footpath network. On the other side of this fence are two cul-de-sacs which could easily lead into this path. Active lifestyles and enjoying beautiful countryside... 🤷

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

We should pay attention, and applaud, #DeepSeek because it is vastly more efficient in terms of energy and water use. The resource consumption of datacentres and AI is frightening. Any technical breakthroughs that help on that front have to be quickly adopted across the whole sector, surely?

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Listened to this super interesting interview with Daisy Christodoulou about VAR and the psychology of rule-making, the tradeoffs involved (and many other things) yesterday... open.spotify.com/episode/5Shq... and now this news www.theguardian.com/football/202...

open.spotify.com

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I showed this analysis for my talk for the @c20society.bsky.social a few months ago but with so much discussion about planning resourcing in the last week, I thought I might stir the pot and post it here.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Submitted a pre app for a written response on 30 April 2024. 4 new-build rural homes on a brownfield site. Got the written response today. 8 months and 8 days later. I am a planner, I deeply like and respect planners within the public sector, but this is why the system needs major reform.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Not a good morning to turn on R4 in the car. So sickened by the weasel worded politicking by Jenrick - an object lesson in cynical dog-whistle language.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

This. Having just finished reading @edconway.bsky.social 's Material Worlds, which has a lot of fascinating things to say about China and battery manufacturing and copper and lots else...this just feels so frustrating.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

@municipaldreams.bsky.social nice to sort of meet you at the Colin Ward talk at Brick Lane the other day. Going to Long Melford today and Pevsner mentions Anglian prefabs there but street name is wrong and Google maps /ukmoho not enlightening...do you happen to know anything?

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Got distracted this evening and made a map of all the projects we've done at HAT. Only ones with real clients actually commissioning us. Not all built out or delivered (the completed ones are in blue). I guess we're regional 🤔 but there's a lot to be said about really knowing your patch.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Be interesting to pull the FRA from the planning application file and see what it said the predicted flood risk was.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

On planning committee and the role of local politicians in planning...I wrote two blogs about this a couple of years ago. virtualhana.blogspot.com/2022/05/poli... and virtualhana.blogspot.com/2022/04/one-...

virtualhana.blogspot.com

Politicians and planning - part 2

Last week I set the cat among the pigeons by suggesting that local politicians should lose their role in determining the outcomes of plannin...

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

One benefit of living where I do, is that my community - friends, kids friends, teachers, shop assistants, hairdresser - includes a lot of people who live in new-build houses. The huge majority of whom - despite whether I personally like their design - are really happy in them. 🧵

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Just finished pouring through spreadsheets to find a rogue mathematical error...and all for my unpaid voluntary role! #givingback in spades I think...

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

The productivity 'puzzle' in the country is not such a puzzle to me, and I suspect, anyone in our sector who is over 40. How 'sticky' every process has become, the lost skill of making a judgement call so things can progress, has serious real world consequences: stuff is not getting built.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Felixstowe...where a kerbless landscape scheme was installed in a busy high street and no-one made a fuss and look it works really well for everyone. I mean it's not the most 'beautiful' in terms of materials but it really WORKS.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Great pack (and not just because I'm on it 😉)

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

I'm aware that a lot of people here probably aren't that aware of what I do and what I'm interested in...so I thought I'd start a thread, of a post a day, linking to some stuff in my back catalogue that may be of interest or relevance. First, a short intro...

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

I like these! More mini personal lists pls.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Housebuilding is about addressing the housing affordability and supply crisis, growth benefits are an added bonus (construction jobs). It is not being suggested as a solution to our productivity crisis.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

I did not know tomatoes were a Xinjiang forced labour product. When you can't trust the label on the food, only option is to buy direct from the farmer, we are lucky to be able to do this relatively easily here for 90% of our veg thanks to a local CSA, but impossible for most people.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

We've now had an EV for a couple of months and done 1500 miles in it. Total converts. Several friends are the same, have gone electric in the last year (mainly on lease, like us) and super happy with the switch. Yet all the analysts are saying there isn't the market for them. Which is true?

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

Like so many architects of my generation, my early years in the sector were defined by Smithfield. Leaving the office late, crossing over with the arrival of meat trucks in the early hours. Stumbling out of clubs into the smell of blood and the shouts of porters.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

I found this article super interesting from a UK pov. I've heard similar arguments from housing officers (yes really) defending 11m2 studios in HMOs and PD conversions as an important part of the housing mix.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

I'm going to say, clear national design standards and approved details for street design that override all local highways authorities, would save a huge amount of time and resource. I.e. Manual for Streets 3 released, with added technical detail, and made mandatory.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Sudden surge of friendly faces over here...lovely 😍. Will try to be more active with planning and housing and design chat and most likely also the odd rant, although in my middle age I'm trying to wean myself off that. Feel out of practice at the short form comment!

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

Gonna be in Manchester this weekend...seeing the Laurie Anderson show with one of my besties, but any recommendations for new stuff (buildings? spaces? art? weird nice stuff?) I should visit, pls LMK...haven't spent time there since Covid so feeling behind the times!

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 05/11/2024

This is happening on Thursday. Come and ask me all the hard questions about how housing should be shaped.

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Hana Loftus @hanaloftus.bsky.social · 03/11/2024

Re-reading the Raynsford review on the planning system, for a talk I'm doing. What a good piece of work developed through quality research and independence of thinking. And so clearly articulated. #sigh

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