Iconic Houses: Modern London

These twelve lectures will present some of the most architecturally significant modern residential buildings in London feauring Modernist classics by Walter Gropius, Berthold Lubetkin and Maxwell Fry, the Art Deco studio house by artist Dora Gordine and progressive millennial works by David Adjaye, Nicholas Grimshaw and Sarah Wigglesworth. Building types will include luxurious detached homes, middle-class suburban developments, city terraces, private blocks of flats and large public housing estates representing a range of modern architectural styles.  We will examine the interiors, planning and settings of homes that convey the richness and breadth of modern British domestic architecture and design. Sessions will consider the history of each building and, as relevant, factors such as planning regulations, technical innovations and materials, the clients’ requirements and roles in the project including their choices of furnishings and decorations. Talks will also ask what made a particular building influential in its time and will discuss today’s cases for conservation or restoration.