Down in dungeness

From dilapidated cottages to the site of a notorious nuclear disaster, what is behind the longing to seek out abandoned places, asks Katie Scott

OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, ELLE HAS CELEBRATED CREATIVITY OF ALL KINDS. HERE, A RANGE OF TODAY’S LEADING ARTISTS, WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND DIRECTORS SHARE THE RITUALS, ROUTINES AND REALITIES BEHIND THEIR GREATEST WORKS, FROM MIND-BLOWING EXCEL SHEETS TO THE MAGIC OF THE DARK ROOM

WINDINGS NO STRAIGHT ROAD TAKES YOU THERE ...

Documentary photographer Richard Cross rises above the shortbread tin romanticism that colours so much of our outdoor heritage, with the perspective provided by drone photography applied to land use issues of our day

Clive Aslet pays tribute to Léon Krier, the visionary architect who eschewed modish modernism to champion traditional, walkable neighbourhoods — and was chosen by King Charles to mastermind the Duchy of Cornwall’s model village, Poundbury

Ancient rural skills in a modern world