Twentieth Century Society – författare

A showcase of Britain’s most astonishing examples of High-Tech buildings from the late twentieth century and beyond. Like the Lotus Esprit, the Atari home computer and the sounds of the Roland TR-808 drum machine, the glossy colour, clip-on components and bristling silhouettes of High-Tech architecture provide a polaroid snapshot of 1980s modernity. High-Tech was an international style forged in Britain, taking inspiration from Victorian engineering and science fiction alike. Geraint Franklin traces its trajectory from 1960s radicalism to the global mainstream, taking in such late 20th-century landmarks as the Lloyds building, the Sainsbury Centre, the Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre and the Eden Project in Cornwall.High-Tech Britain revisits the work of the ‘big four’ practices of Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Michael and Patty Hopkins and Nicolas Grimshaw. From their teams emerged a younger generation of designers including Eva Jiřičná, Ian Ritchie, Richard Horden and Jan Kaplický who took the language in new directions. Alongside are profiled lesser-known stories such as the Patera kit building quietly rusting in London’s Docklands and the workshop at Hooke Park, Dorset, engineered from waste wood. Illustrated with new photography by John East, High-Tech Britain is an authoritative survey of the most groundbreaking examples of this extraordinary moment in British architecture.‘An essential guide to the big, shiny style that ruled modern Britain.’ – Rowan Moore‘How did buildings as bright and light as 8-bit computer games and eighties sports cars come to dominate our urban landscape? Geraint Franklin tells a fast-paced design story beside John East's glorious images, full of fun palaces, floating canopies and facades of gleaming perfection.’ – John Grindrod‘This is a book that is about more than nostalgia. It reminds us that there was a time when the future of architecture was full of possibilities.’ – Deyan Sudjic‘Geraint Franklin deftly summarises the architectural and engineering revolution of high-tech, exploring its roots, and setting its British-designed examples in a global context. He explains its 21st century transition into an ecologically aware movement that remains true to its original fascination with unconventional materials and kit-of-parts construction.’ – Hugh Pearman‘High-Tech is that most British of architectural fetishes, a collision of Victorian engineering and comic strip sci-fi, it was the UK's major contribution to modernism.  This survey takes in the whole range of High Tech, from trad to rad, a wonderful homage to a period still surprisingly fragile and endangered.’ – Edwin Heathcote

A celebration of some of the greatest modern buildings in Britain, all created in the 21st century.The Twentieth Century Society are looking to the future with this latest title in the '100 Buildings' series, providing an overview of the best and most interesting buildings created in the 21st century so far. What do these buildings tell us about British society, our changing values and our aspirations? And will we still feel they have meaning and purpose for decades to come?This fascinating book provides an overview of a quarter of a century of new buildings, and offers a unique perspective of how these buildings might adapt to changing future needs. The buildings include houses, workplaces, education buildings, entertainment and sport venues, transport hubs, places of worship and even landscapes and gardens. 100 21st-Century Buildings also provides a look forward to the heritage of the future, examining if our historic building preservation system is robust enough to protect the best examples of 21st-century architecture. What needs to be done to ensure we save what deserves to be saved?From Tate Modern and the Shard to Gateshead Millennium Bridge, the Scottish Parliament Building and Belfast's Lyric Theatre, this beautiful book is a celebration of this century's best architecture.

The most inspirational buildings in the world, as chosen by well-known contemporary architects.In this book, published in conjunction with the Twentieth Century Society, 50 contemporary architects choose the buildings from around the world that have inspired them and made an impact on their own work. Architectural journalist Pamela Buxton interviewed each of the architects to create these outstanding portraits of the buildings that have influenced modern architecture. The diverse selection is introduced by Twentieth Century Society director Catherine Croft, and illustrated throughout with photographs by Gareth Gardne and Edward Tyler.The book features a diverse range of inspirational buildings, from housing estates to castles, coal mines to cathedrals. Work by the giants of twentieth-century architecture including Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Alvar Aalto are featured, as well as lesser-known gems. Examples include Richard Rogers (of RHSP) on Maison de Verre (Paris, France); Chris Williamson (of Weston Williamson) on the Eames House by Charles and Ray Eames (Los Angeles, USA); Takero Shimazaki (of T-SA, UK) on Hexenhaus by Alison and Peter Smithson (Bad Karlshafen, Germany); Ted Cullinan (of Cullinan Studio) on Chapel of Notre Dame Du Haut by Le Corbusier (Ronchamp, France); Michael Squire (of Squire & Partners, UK) on Grundtvig’s Church by Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint (Copenhagen, Denmark); and Jonathan Woolf (of Jonathan Woolf Architects) on Haus Esters and Haus Lange by Mies van der Rohe (Krefeld, Germany).This beautifully produced book offers a great insight into the power of existing architecture and its immense influence on the world we build today.

Following on from 100 Buildings 100 Years and 100 Houses 100 Years, this book illustrates and describes 100 churches and chapels built in the UK since 1914, charting the development of buildings for worship.In this period concrete and steel gave a new freedom to construction, while new ideas about how congregations could participate in services changed assumptions about traditional layouts, bringing celebrants and people closer together. The century saw dynamic churches in dramatic shapes of all sizes thanks to ambitious engineering, and brilliant colour from new forms of stained glass, murals and sculpture.Architects whose work is included here range from Basil Spence and Edward Maufe, designers of major cathedrals, to the radical Gillespie, Kidd and Coia whose brutalist seminary lies abandoned near Dumbarton. The book provides biographies of major designers; articles on glass, fittings, and on the synagogues, mosques and temples that play an intrinsic and important part in worship in Britain today. Contributors include architectural historians Elain Harwood, Alan Powers and Clare Price.Beautiful photography throughout showcases the very best of British church design, whether it is the minimal symmetry of a timber-framed altar, or light streaming in through a multi-coloured stained glass panel.

A showcase of Britain's most extraordinary gardens and landscapes from the twentieth century to present day.100 20th-Century Gardens and Landscapes highlights the evolution of gardens and landscapes over the past century, tracing how these distinctive creations complemented buildings of their period. Entries in this book are grouped in chronological periods, documenting changing styles and techniques in a visual timeline. The examples chosen take the story from the Arts and Crafts garden and the garden city, through the landscapes created for mid-century housing and the new towns, to the low-maintenance gardens of the 1980s and contemporary trends for community and wildlife gardens.Designed landscapes were often integral to the conception of twentieth-century developments; the inclusion of a handful of particularly successful landscapes for memorial gardens, offices, industry, transport and parks demonstrate a changing attitude to public green space during the century and its increasing importance as private gardens have become ever smaller. Designers and architects such as Piet Oudolf, Charles Jencks, Frederick Gibberd, Geoffrey Jellicoe, Vita Sackville-West and Gertrude Jekyll are all featured, alongside more detailed essays on the history of gardens, planting styles, the importance of modern landscapes, and the career of Geoffrey Jellicoe.The text is written by architectural, landscape and garden historians including Elain Harwood, Barbara Simms and Alan Powers. Beautifully illustrated throughout with photography, illustrations and garden plans, this book is ideal for gardeners and landscape lovers alike.

A showcase of Britain's most extraordinary gardens and landscapes from the twentieth century to present day.100 20th-Century Gardens and Landscapes highlights the evolution of gardens and landscapes over the past century, tracing how these distinctive creations complemented buildings of their period. Entries in this book are grouped in chronological periods, documenting changing styles and techniques in a visual timeline. The examples chosen take the story from the Arts and Crafts garden and the garden city, through the landscapes created for mid-century housing and the new towns, to the low-maintenance gardens of the 1980s and contemporary trends for community and wildlife gardens.Designed landscapes were often integral to the conception of twentieth-century developments; the inclusion of a handful of particularly successful landscapes for memorial gardens, offices, industry, transport and parks demonstrate a changing attitude to public green space during the century and its increasing importance as private gardens have become ever smaller. Designers and architects such as Piet Oudolf, Charles Jencks, Frederick Gibberd, Geoffrey Jellicoe, Vita Sackville-West and Gertrude Jekyll are all featured, alongside more detailed essays on the history of gardens, planting styles, the importance of modern landscapes, and the career of Geoffrey Jellicoe.The text is written by architectural, landscape and garden historians including Elain Harwood, Barbara Simms and Alan Powers. Beautifully illustrated throughout with photography, illustrations and garden plans, this book is ideal for gardeners and landscape lovers alike.

A showcase of Britain's most architecturally significant shops throughout the twentieth century and beyond. 100 20th-Century Shops is a fascinating insight into the heritage of Britain’s changing high street and the diverse architectural styles of the 20th century. Entries in this book showcase 100 often instantly recognisable shops from across the country, from throughout the 20th century and stretching into the 21st, capturing the changing architectural styles of our beloved and rapidly disappearing retail environment.As the UK's retail landscape faces an existential crisis, now is an appropriate time to review and celebrate the architecture of our high streets. From Tudor-revival department stores and futuristic supermarkets to Art Deco shop fronts and post-war Festival style markets, the 100 shops featured here evoke a variety of design styles and traces the history and evolution of our cherished high street. The book also contains essays by respected writers Elain Harwood, Lynn Pearson, Matthew Whitfield, Kathryn A. Morrison and Bronwen Edwards on the design, development and decline of the high street over the last 100 years within a social and political context. This compelling book provides a glimpse into the wonderful shops that Britain has to offer and is a must-have for all fans of design history, architecture and retail.

A celebration of Britain's diverse housing styles throughout the twentieth century and beyond.This illuminating book is a fascinating insight into Britain’s built heritage and the diverse housing styles of the twentieth century. Redesigned and updated in a brand-new edition, it showcases 100 houses, from throughout the 20th century and stretching into the 21st, that represent the range of architectural styles throughout the years and show how housing has adapted to suit urban life. Each house is accompanied by stunning photography and texts written by leading architectural critics and design historians, including Gavin Stamp, Elain Harwood, Barnabas Calder, Alan Powers and Gillian Darley.From specially commissioned architect-designed houses for private individuals to housing built for increased workforces, each of the 100 houses brings a different design style or historical story. There are houses built as part of garden cities, semi-detached suburban dwellings, housing estates, eco-houses, almshouses, converted factories and affordable post-war homes. Architectural styles encompass mock Tudor, modernist, Arts and Crafts and brutalism, and featured architects include Giles Gilbert Scott, Walter Gropius, Edwin Lutyens, Powell and Moya and David Chipperfield.The book also contains essays that explore the social and political aspects of housing design in Britain over the last 100 years, looking at the impact the world wars had on housing, exploring domestic technology and building materials and discovering how the modern house came about. This compelling book gives a glimpse into the wonderful housing Britain has to offer and is a must-have for all fans of design history and architecture.

A stylish celebration of some of the greatest buildings in Britain, from the 20th century and beyond, by the country’s leading organisation for the protection of 20th century architecture.This fascinating book showcases 100 standout buildings from 1914 onwards, representing the broad variety of 20th century British architecture. The structures celebrated in this book include the Royal Festival Hall, the Hepworth Gallery, Preston Bus Station, Battersea Power Station, the Barbican Estate, the Aquatics Centre and many more.  The glorious photography in 100 20th Century Buildings is accompanied by insightful text from a range of expert architectural writers and enthusiasts including Alan Powers, Owen Hatherley and Rowan Moore, along with several longer essays on different aspects of the 20th-century built environment: the late Gavin Stamp on the inter-war decades, the much missed Elain Harwood on post-war architecture and Timothy Brittain-Catlin on postmodernism.From factories to art galleries, churches to health centres, office blocks to individual private dwellings, this book provides a captivating overview of the 20th century built environment.

A nostalgic exploration of Britain’s distinctive and architecturally significant seafront buildings from the 1920s to the new millennium.British seaside resorts enjoyed phenomenal popularity for much of the twentieth century. Told chronologically, this book is the first look at how resort architecture around the UK coast kept pace with changing fashions and the increasing competition of foreign destinations.Using vintage postcard images, Kathryn Ferry showcases the inherent playfulness of seaside architecture as it evolved from interwar classicism, through art deco and international modernism, to Festival of Britain-inspired mid-century style, then later to seafront tower blocks and the artificial beaches of 1970s leisure centres. Featuring a wide range of building types, Twentieth Century Seaside Architecture explores everything from beach huts and bandstands to lidos, piers, theatres, hotels and amusement arcades.As climate change and the soaring cost of living provoke changing attitudes to travel, Britain’s seaside has witnessed renewed popularity, making now the perfect time to champion our architectural legacy of domestic tourism. Offering a compelling reassessment, Twentieth Century Seaside Architecture will appeal to fans of architecture and design who love to be beside the sea.

A showcase of Britain’s most architecturally significant sports and leisure buildings from the twentieth century and beyond. 100 20th Century Sports and Leisure Buildings gives a fascinating insight into the spaces where we play: from swimming pools and skate parks to ice rinks and cricket pavilions. These structures are not only an intensely evocative part of our shared social heritage but some of the most architecturally innovative constructions of the past century – as seen here in buildings by architects including Edwin Lutyens, Walter Tapper, John Burnet and Zaha Hadid.The twentieth century saw a rapid expansion in the public provision for sports and leisure as workers won the right to paid holiday, prompting a boom in the construction of municipal lidos, pools and sports grounds. Later in the century leisure centres brought together facilities for a whole range of sports with an emphasis on family fun, combining environmentally controlled environments with soaring engineering and playful pop imagery. Space-age geodesic domes, diamond-glazed pyramids, castellated forts, brutalist elephants and Moorish postmodern palaces are just a few of the highlights of this idiosyncratic genre showcased here.Expert essays on particular building types, including Alan Powers on lidos and Simon Inglis on sports stadiums, give further context to these spaces. Also included is an introduction with a strong campaigning element – with the decimation of local authority budgets forcing the closure of many centres and pools, this is a timely exploration that provides a crucial record of this key part of our cultural heritage.

Awarded HIGHLY COMMENDED at The British Book Design and Production Awards 2026.A stirring large-format celebration of cooling towers, the monumental brutalist structures dotted around Britain that are relics of twentieth-century industrial history – and are about to disappear for good.Bringing together some of the country’s most distinguished architectural photographers and writers, Cooling Towers is an elegiac exploration of these imposing buildings, forming a definitive visual record of Britain’s coal-fired power stations at the moment that they disappear into history, as most of them have been slated for demolition very soon. In a distinctive large format to reflect the unique and sculptural presence of cooling towers within the landscape and to best show the beautiful photography which captures them. Essays include:• Hugh Pearman on Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, still standing but not for long.• Otto Saumaurez Smith on the recently demolished, particularly beautiful set of cooling towers that formed part of Ironbridge B Power Station.• Jonathan Clarke on the historical, technological and engineering context of post-war power stations.With a celebratory foreword by Antony Gormley, Turner Prize-winning British artist who has long expressed admiration for these immense constructions, and photography from renowned architectural photographers Luke O'Donovan, Michael Collins and James O. Davis of Historic England, this book is a visually exciting and historically significant record of Britain's twentieth-century industrial legacy.