160 pages, paperback, 265 x 196 mm, 100 illustrations
PRICE: £20.00
ISBN: 978 0 952975 58 8
This latest publication from The Twentieth Century Society covers many aspects of the architecture and designs of the 1930s, from the influence of sculpture and photography, through the work of iconic architechts like Lubetkin, to the impact of new housing models on their inhabitants.
Setting the context is a hitherto unpublished essay by Nikolaus Pevsner, originally written as part of a text on British Architecture for the Architecture Review in 1939, but which never appeared. It is a highly perceptive early assessment of the modern movement in Britain, from the man who did much to champion it. Other topics include modernism and tradition in British sculpture, architectural photography, the design of schools, the work of Sir Owen Williams, of Lubetkin and of Ladun, and housing.
Sarah Charlton is Head of Royal Horticultural Society Books. Alan Powers has recently published The Modern Movement in Britain (2005). Nikolaus Pevsner was the author of the famous The Buildings of England series. Contrubutors: Chris Stephens, curator at Tate Modern; Robert Elwall, Curators of Photographs, RIBA; Denis Clarke Hall, architect, winner of the 1937 News Chronicle schools competition; Royston Foor; John Allan, restoration architect, author of two books on Lubetkin; Elizabeth Darling, University of Brighton; Barnabus Calder.
First published in 2001 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Festival of Britain, this second edition coincides with the Festival's 60th anniversary. The book reproduces more pictures in colour and black-and-white than ever published together before and remains informative, entertaining and challenging to received opinions. More
Robin Hood Gardens in Tower Hamlets, East London, was designed by Alison + Peter Smithson and completed in 1972. In 2008, this large social housing scheme was threatened with demolition and became a controversial conservation case. This book uncovers the history of the project, arguing for its historical and architectural significance and for its future role in housing provision. More
The Sixties: a time of sexual and cultural liberation, the Space Age and a tremendous optimism. There were radical new fashions in clothes, lifestyle objects and architecture - and also the rediscovery of Victoriana and Art Nouveau. This is a collection of essays by the architects and designers who were there, including Peter Smithson, Patrick Hodgkinson and Jane Dillon, and historians such as Gavin Stamp and Lesley Jackson with fresh insights on those enthusiastic, mixed-up times. More
There was no bigger issue in the twentieth century than housing. In peace or war, people need homes, and a growing population and demands for better standards put architects, planners and sociologists to work. The century was known for its public housing, culminating in the tower blocks that once peppered major cities such as Birmingham and Glasgow, now fast disappearing. More
The second in the 20th Century Society Journal series has essays on modern houses open to the public, Harbour Meadow in Sussex, Dorich House in Kingston, Villa Savoy, and essays on patrons, textiles and plastics of the modern house and an interview with Elisabeth Benjamin and a discussion on F.R.S. Yorke. More
2002 was the centenary of Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen's birth (1902–1971). The Museum of Modern Art in Oxford celebrated Jacobsen's enduring importance by presenting a new exhibition which aimed to introduce to a wider audience aspects of his work as an architect and designer. More
Houses designed by Brian Housden, Patrick Gwynne, Robert Harvey and John Penn are considered in seven essays by leading architects, art historians and curators. More
It was the 1960s, just when the Smithsons were writing, that conservation emerged in Britain as a mainstream aspect of architecture, introducing precisely those issues about social purpose, urbanism and ecology that were central to architecture's participation in the counterculture and its resistance to global capitalism. More