In examining the architectural map of the United Kingdom British architectural traditions have not changed much in the last 300 years. While cities like Paris, Berlin and Stockholm were developing glass and steel structures, Britain’s architectural vocabulary remained decidedly limited. Most of the UKs most enduringly iconic structures were produced during the 17th and 18th centuries. Structures like Queen’s House in Greenwich begun for Queen Anne between 1616 and 1619 and completed for Henrietta Maria between 1630 and 1635 is one example. Saint Paul’s Cathedral stands as one of the clearest expressions of the English Baroque, and one of the greatest buildings in England. It was designed by Wren to replace the cathedral which had been devastated during the Fire of London in 1666.
Finally, Blenheim Palace on Oxfordshire, a monument to the Duke of Marlborough, whose victory over Louis XIV’s army at Blenheim in Bavaria gives the palace its name stand out as some of that nations most quintessentially British edifices.
In the 18th century, the builders gaze turned to the structure of antiquity. During this period the governments desire to create a society that would rival that of ancient Rome encouraged them to heavily reinterpret designs by Andrea Palladio and other classical architects. Examples of this include Chiswick House, modeled after Palladio’s Villa Capra, Keddleston Hall and the Gothic-style Strawberry Hill. After a time, however, this neo-classical style became limiting and a more more inclusive and eclectic approach was required. Buildings during the late 18th and early 19th centuries were executed in a kind of hybrid style, combining the vocabulary of several centuries of architectural expression.
As the 20th century approached though, little changed. While visionaries like Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier grappled with the realities of the modern world by creating vast structures of glass and concrete, Britain’s architectural development remained mired in its previous old traditions and was decidedly unresponsive to the shift in architectural climate that the larger world was experiencing. New techniques, methods and materials went largely unintroduced in Britain. Instead architects like Lutyens kept busy creating home in the Renaissance and Georgian style, situated in the countryside and intended for the moneyed upper classes. He was not alone. Many architects and designers of the early-mid 20th century utterly rejected the ideology and methodology of modernist architecture and began instead to embrace an older craft-based style of workmanship in an attempt to turn back the clock. This collective rejection of Modernism resulted in a dearth of quality Modern structures in England during this period, and virtually all extant examples were the work of foreign architects like Serge Chermayeff, Berthold Lubetkin and Erno Goldfinger.
Erno Goldfinger's Trellick Tower, Kensington
Like so many aspects of British life, architecture was forced to change significantly following the devastation and destruction of World War II. After the years of bombing and the decimation of so many of the country’s beloved buildings, the Modern movements views and beliefs regarding progress, futurism and the drive to explore the functions of new materials and new technologies resonated sharply with the British who were determined to create a new future for themselves. The new construction which took place under Attlee’s 1945 Labour government required the development of housing, schools and government buildings quickly and affordably which demanded the use of prefabricated materials. Soon, local elected officials were the ones making decisions about the direction, shape and function of new buildings being erected in their communities. This was a notable and significant shift from the past when the architectural landscape was utterly dominated by structures commissioned by wealthy private citizens. The change in attitude was undeniable although anything too adventurous in the modern vein was is still somewhat frowned upon. Heir to the throne Prince Charles has roundly criticized modern architecture, saying that he finds it too flashy and has warned architects against designing structures in order to “make statements” or simply to create a unique building. In 1984 he called a proposed extension to the National Gallery in London a “monstrous carbuncle”.
Britan’s staid, somewhat curt refusal to embrace Modern architecture has given rise to one of the most exciting new architectural initiatives in recent memory. Inspired by research for his newest book “The Architecture of Happiness”, writer Alain de Botton has commissioned 5 houses by some of the most important architects in Europe. He said his goal with the project is to assist the residents of Great Britain in getting over what he termed their “phobia” of modern architecture. The houses will be available to rent as a holiday retreat for long weekends, and will be rented out on a not-for-profit basis.
“I want to help people get over the dichotomy that modernism equals awful and antiquated equals great. There is still, in many people’s minds, a fear around the words ‘modern architecture’. Modern architecture has to some extent traumatised the UK population.”
Architects from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland and London have been invited to participate in the program. The houses are deliberately experimental, intended to challenge peoples perceptions of what a holiday home in the UK could be. The first house is a contemporary take on a barn, with the house itself built precariously teetering over a hillside precipice. The house was designed by MVRDV, a Dutch firm and is slated for availability in October of this year. As for some of the other houses, Nord Architecture in Glasgow are building a tar-black house with a concrete and timber interior, to be situated in the Kentish countryside. Future structures that are slated for construction include a secular retreat intended to echo the structural philosophies of Martin Heidegger and promises visitors the same sense of serenity, calm and peace as an abbey or monastery.
Botton feels strongly that to truly embrace modern architecture, people need to be able to engage with it in an authentic way. ” “For,most people a grand design will be way out of their reach and modern architecture is something you get at a train station, museum, airport or hotel,” said De Botton. “Otherwise, people don’t tend to encounter modern architecture. This is giving people a chance to eat, sleep and live in a purpose-designed modern house.”
