I've just finished (and enjoyed) @archhistdarling.bsky.social's excellent new book on the architecture of Broadcasting House which explores how in the 1920s/30s the BBC and its designers collectively used architecture and design to forge their identity in a modern world #20s30s

Very exciting news that 'Building Modern Scotland' has been shortlisted for the @thesahgb.bsky.social's Alice Davis Hitchcock award alongside excellent titles by @holsmith.bsky.social @matthewwhitfield.bsky.social @rproctor.bsky.social and others! www.sahgb.org.uk/features/202...

'New Towns Mark One' by the late Elain Harwood, edited by me, is now available for pre-order at £32 via www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10..... It explores the origins of the new towns programme & the 'mark one' towns begun in the 1940s, concluding with Cumbernauld, the first mk 2 town.

New Towns Mark One | Home

Architecture and Planning in Post-War Britain

liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk

A brief stop at Worcester Shrub Hill yesterday offered a chance to see the (listed!) K8 phone box on the station platform. This reminded me that @c20society.bsky.social was trying to get some of the next generation KX kiosks listed - I wonder if anything came of that?

I've co-organised a symposium with @c20society.bsky.social on 10 September to mark 80 years of the New Towns Act, and the launch of Elain Harwood's final major book, 'New Towns Mark One', which I edited (and the sequel to which I'm now writing). Details here: secure.c20society.org.uk/Default.aspx...

Almere - a new town in the Netherlands, now 50 years old. Visited during my recent holiday. These photos show the De Werven area, one of the first, with clusters of houses backing onto communal gardens plus cycleways and a busway.

Quick trip to Newcastle for work. The Premier Inn was built in 1932 as a Co-Op dept store and it's nice to see some original features survive

Cat halts my attempt to read the 1968 Central Borders study.

Spotted last weekend, a sculpted stone panel at the National Hospital for Neurology in London #20s30s

Adding to this feature in the new @c20society.bsky.social magazine, that listing is also for social value. Given the current full-blown onslaught against culture/the humanities let’s celebrate SBAC as a vision of state support for culture & architecture. See also. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The Festival Hall is 75 years old this year. I was pleased to be asked to contribute to a new book which explores its history, architecture and life (shop.southbankcentre.co.uk/products/roy...)

Now out, an Open Access article on Essex's 1973 "Design Guide", which fundamentally shaped the design of housing in England: doi.org/10.1080/0266.... Thank you to @rproctor.bsky.social @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social & others for encouragement & comments, and @britishacademy.bsky.social for funding

Thank you to @geraintfranklin.bsky.social for this review of Building Modern Scotland: well-timed for the paperback edition, which is out now!

Urban History@urbanhistory.bsky.social · 4mo ago

And last but not least 📚 @geraintfranklin.bsky.social on @alistairfair.bsky.social, @lynncabrams.bsky.social, Kat Breen, @milesglendinning.bsky.social, Diane Watters and @vawright10.bsky.social's Building Modern Scotland 🔗 doi.org/10.1017/S096...

As I slowly piece together a book about the 1960s new towns (currently working on Washington and Skelmersdale), my glamorous assistant has decided to take an interest in the details of development corporation finance discussed in the book I was attempting to read...

A little jaunt this morning for a tour of the Bernat Klein studio with some of the Architectural History placement students.

Publication day for the paperback edition of 'Building Modern Scotland'. Pictured here in Blackwells Edinburgh! It's a social & architectural history of Scotland's post-war new towns, collaboratively written by a @leverhulme.ac.uk funded team from @edincollegeofart.bsky.social and @glasgow.ac.uk

From a time when building control was resourced to pay close attention even to a modest cottage modernisation project, the report of a site visit by the local authority inspector in 1983.

Dropped in to Paisley Abbey earlier. Much of the east end was reconstructed in the early C20th by Lorimer et al, with some lovely results.

Very true!

This Is My Glasgow@thisismyglasgow.bsky.social · 6mo ago

A warning sign I came across this afternoon in George Square in Glasgow. Given how often I've just about been hit by a bus while photographing the city's architecture, it's good advice! #glasgow #humour #architecture #architecturephotography #georgesquare

A very niche question, but does anyone know anything about this typeface? Was it created by a specific make of typewriter? It appears every so often in the archives and I've long thought it elegant.

Currently writing about Essex County Council's 1973 'Design Guide for Residential Areas', which advocated contextual materials (though not necessarily revivalist forms) plus shared-space 'mews courts' and went on to have a massive influence on late 70s/80s new housing

Just delivered by the postman, this substantial new collection edited by @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social @petermandler.bsky.social and Simon Gunn with a stellar lineup of contributors. I'm looking forward to diving into it over the next few days.

Lunchtime perambulation around the University of Glasgow. The (former) Modern Languages building (now Law?), by Walter Ramsay, 1958-59, showing the often gentle modernism of the 1950s. Perhaps now overshadowed by the brutalism of the adjacent Queen Margaret Union, but I'm quite partial to it.

My colleague @milesglendinning.bsky.social is the latest recruit to Bluesky. Follow him for insights on the architectural history and heritage of global mass housing

Miles Glendinning@milesglendinning.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Wang Fuk Court must surely be the end of bamboo scaffolding on housing. Flexi 2 HOS blocks intrinsically safe – only 8 flats/floor – but the scaffolding is like wrapping them in a ‘temporary Grenfell’! Big questions for HKSAR Buildings Dept. to answer (esp. with other live cases - eg Sui Wo Court)

Stir-up Sunday. 7 hours down, 1 hour to go. (This is the pudding; the Christmas cake and mincemeat were made in September and are maturing in the cupboard.)

Excellent news for the end of the week as @thesahgb.bsky.social recognises the monumental efforts of the Buildings of England/Scotland/Wales/Ireland team over several decades.

The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain@thesahgb.bsky.social · 9mo ago

SAHGB has conferred the inaugural Colvin Special Award 2025 on the editors of the Pevsner Architectural Guides, recognising their renewal of this landmark series for readers across the British Isles. Full press release on our website. www.sahgb.org.uk/features/col...

Disappointing news about the non-listing of the Brunton Theatre, despite it being deemed list-able by HES. A replacement building will cost £50m+, replacing the roof was estimated at £22m... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Theatre at demolition risk over Raac loses listed building bid

East Lothian Council has said it has little option but to demolish the Brunton Theatre building.

bbc.co.uk

Alistair: let's de-centre the architect in architectural-historical writing. Meanwhile Duolingo:

Archive-based teaching this afternoon, on the post-war reconstruction of central Coventry.

End of week reading. @samwetherell.bsky.social's excellent new urban history of post-war Liverpool.