Cambridge City: A History of Architectural Innovation
It is often bemoaned by commentators that modernist architecture in Britain got off to a relatively late start, compared with continental Europe. Certainly, European émigrés and exiles were responsible for the design and building of many of Britain’s first modernist structures, both public and private: ranging from Mendelsohn and Chermayeff’s iconic De La Warr Pavilion, to Lubetkin’s Finsbury Health Centre. Cambridge is no exception. Contemporary visitors to the city can enjoy visiting an innovative Village College co-designed by none other than Walter Gropius, among other classic examples.
Yet Cambridge also contains some excellent, heritage-listed examples of “British” modernism at its finest: important British architects and designers represented in this University city include Walter Checkley, Maxwell Fry, Justin Blanco White, H.C. Hughes, and Peter Bicknell. In ‘Finella’, Cambridge contains what was arguably the first significant modernist interior in the UK, with artistic and architectural contributions from luminaries including Eric Gill, Jacob Epstein, and the Isokon design firm.
Who were the clients and commissioners of these innovative twentieth-century buildings, designed with cutting-edge aesthetics and using the latest technologies? What were the social and historical circumstances that allowed the creation of these kinds of buildings? And what made Cambridge, so well-known for its medieval architectural core, a crucible for modern architecture and design?
To explore these questions further, please take a look around the site.
