Interested in learning more about modernist architecture in Cambridge, and the rest of the UK? Want to know where you can visit modernist buildings in Britain? Thinking about getting involved in helping to save Britain’s modernist gems?
Here are some places to get started.
Architectural Resources for Cambridge
Shape East – The centre for architecture and the built environment in the East of England
ShapeWalks – Architectural walking tours around Cambridge, featuring interactive maps and printable guides
Cambridge 2000 Project – A reasonably comprehensive database of images of buildings of Cambridge, covering all periods. Created to showcase an overview of Cambridge’s built environment at turn of the millenium.
Modernist Architecture Related Community and Advocacy Organisations in the UK
The following organisations are just a sample of the range of grassroots work that is being done at national, regional, and local levels to save Britain’s modernist heritage for current and future generations.
Battersea Power Station Community Group
Outside Cambridge – A Few British Modernist Buildings and Structures Worth Visiting
The buildings here are listed as suggested starting-points for those in Britain (or visiting Britain) who would like to experience modernism at first-hand. I have included the following buildings or structures because they are notable examples of their kind, are well-conserved and/or recently restored, and are open to the public.
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, Sussex (Architects: Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff)
The Homewood, Esher, Surrey (Architect/Designer: Patrick Gwynne)
2 Willow Road, Hampstead, London (Architect: Ernö Goldfinger)
The Penguin Pool, London Zoo, Regent’s Park, London (Architect: Berthold Lubetkin / Tecton Architectural Group)
The Jubilee Pool, Penzance, Cornwall (Architect/Designer: Captain F. Latham) – strictly speaking, this is probably more Art Deco than modernist in style (compare the pool with Lubetkin’s!), but the Jubilee is beautifully restored and a classic example of the popular seaside lidos of the 1920s and 1930s.
National organisations
Modern and contemporary architecture forms an important part of our national architectural and cultural heritage. Luckily, the UK is blessed with a wealth of organisations whose mission is to promote and to preserve this heritage for the benefit of everyone. The following national organisations and bodies are representative of the kinds of groups that provide information, organise events, and create ways to get involved.
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment – CABE
Royal Institute of British Architects – RIBA
Education and Lifelong Learning
Design Museum, London – excellent exhibitions and online resources
Open University, ‘From Here to Modernity’ Course – good introductory course on modernism in Britain
The Bauhaus, Modernism, and Domestic Architecture – interesting (student?) research project by Kelly Oxborrow, with lots of information on Oliver Hill’s architecture for the seaside community of Frinton Park Estate, Essex
