Modernist Semis and Terraces in England

Finn Jensen completed an MA in architecture at Liverpool John Moores University in 2006 following a career in the quality and reliability assurance of electronics. He is a doctorate and the author or co-author of three books within this field. Following his retirement as a consultant in 2004, he has devoted his time to the study of domestic architecture, especially in the UK, and is now a full time researcher and writer.

'Finn Jensen is a wonderfully erudite and inspiring guide through a century of architectural modernism in England, from its beginnings soon after the First World War to the "New Modernism" of the last few decades. Modernist Semis and Terraces in England is a thoughtful and sympathetic exploration of a hitherto neglected but vast and important area of British cultural heritage. Instead of reaching for familiar examples of individual modernist houses commissioned by wealthy patrons from well known architects, Jensen reveals the beauty of modernist designs in working-class estates and lower- and middle-class mass housing: those places where modernist achievement is often overlooked and not infrequently threatened. His engaging study takes us from Greater London, along the coast to Cornwall and back inland, into villages, and down suburban and urban streets, and it encourages us to see that modernism has become a very British way of building houses and that it more than merits - and in this book gets - a serious architectural study.' Vesna Goldsworthy, Kingston University, UK 'In the search for ways of building more and better housing we could learn a lot from the 30s, when the semi took off as the standard way of building mass housing. It is the definitive British contribution to house design, with its small garden front and rear, and modern appliances. Finn Jensen provides fresh insights into why the UK departed from the rest of the world, particularly as far as modernism is concerned.' Nicholas Falk, URBED, UK 'Although the story of modern architecture in pre-war England is often told as one of missed opportunities, Finn Jensen's comprehensive study of Modernist semis and terraces shows how close English domestic architecture once came to the Siedlung and woningbouw of European Modernism.' Neil Jackson, University of Liverpool, UK '... there is much of interest to the general reader in this book and Jensen is to be commended for bringing attention to an often overlooked swathe of Modernist houses.' Newsletter of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain '... an essential, and almost unique guide for anyone interested in modernist domestic architecture... Jensen's book is an engaging concise and accessible one.' The Modernist 'Friedman's book deserves to be read by architecture students with an interest in low-rise housing. This also goes for housing policy researchers who are interested in low-rise housing in a somewhat denser form. For non-architects, this book provides insights in architects' motives for specific design decisions and might therefore stimulate a better understanding and collaboration between architects and policy-makers.' International Journal of Housing Policy

• Contents: Preface; Part I Architectural Modernism: Towards modernism in England. Part II Working-Class Estates: The Clockhouse Way estate - Braintree; Crittall's Garden Village - Silver End; The Bata estate - East Tilbury; Lescaze at Dartington Hall; Estates for war workers; Jellicoe's seven secret estates. Part III Modernist Housing - The Inter-War Period: The rise of modernism in continental Europe (1900-1940); Housing in inter-war England; Modernism and its critics - England in the 30s. Part IV Middle-Class Modernism - a Journey Through England: Introduction; Greater London - northern part; Greater London - southern part; The coastline from Cornwall to Essex; Inland locations; Modernism, Art Deco and the suntrap house. Part V Post-War Modernism: Introduction; Modernism 1945-65; The wilderness years and a new Modernism 1965-2010; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.