Lectures

Architectural Styles I: 30’s Modernism with Alan Powers

Following the success of our 2017 series ‘A Style Guide to Twentieth Century Architecture’, this is our first lecture in our new series of online lectures about Architectural Styles, led by Dr. Alan Powers on 30’s Modernism.

Understanding architecture since 1914 involves understanding the meaning of labels and their underlying significance. While these labels are widely used, they represent a mixture of forgotten intentions, opportunistic adoptions, post-rationalisations and misapplications.

Modernism was meant to be more than a style – in fact the end of ‘styles’ as we know them.  It was a mission and a vision, rooted in formulae but reaching for eternity.  Was it destined to become a set of design cliches, like any other style, or did it achieve liberation?