ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

Bessacarr, South Yorkshire, currently for sale through The Modern House

Anderton House, Devon, available for holiday lets through The Landmark Trust

Peter Aldington established his own practice in 1962. He quickly gained an international reputation for his set of three village houses in Buckinghamshire, which he designed and built with his wife, Margaret Aldington, between 1964 and 1968. These properties are famed for their magical transition between house and garden. John Craig joined the practice as a partner in 1970. The practice designed groundbreaking doctors’ surgeries, shops and office interiors, and became one of the most influential designers of post-war domestic housing in Britain. Later, Paul Collinge joined as partner in 1983. They produced their own version of High Tech in the mid 1980s with the Royal Mail at Hemel Hempstead. The practice is still thriving, with Aldington and Craig working as consultants. Their work is inspired by architects such as Mies Van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. Aldington, Craig and Collinge have a won numerous awards and designed five listed buildings.

For properties for sale or to let by Peter Aldington and other architects, visit: The Modern House

For Anderton House in Devon, visit: The Landmark Trust

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: Austin Vernon & Partners

May 17, 2013

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

Austin Vernon & Partners was established in 1948 when Russell Vernon (1916-2009) became a partner in the architecture practice of his uncle, Frederick Austin Vernon (1882-1972), who was the surveyor and architect to the Dulwich Estate. For several family generations, the practice had already been a successful commercial enterprise. Its architectural output, however, was rather traditional. Russell, who had studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic and worked for his great uncle, George Vernon (1870-1942), transformed it into a modern studio that over time has been appreciated for producing some of the highest-quality 1950s and 1960s housing in the country, as well as for the restoration of Dulwich Picture Gallery after bomb damage. Austin Vernon & Partners designed many different types of building in many different locations around the country, including the headquarters of Otis Elevators; a church and training centre for the Church Army; and an office for Lufthansa. Their greatest passion, however, was the Dulwich Estate, where they designed over 2,000 homes. Great care was taken to respond to the natural contours of site, surrounding tree heights and placement of existing trees.

For properties for sale or to let by Austin Vernon and other architects, visit: The Modern House

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: Cullinan Studio

May 3, 2013

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

Statement

Cullinan Studio is an award-winning practice with an international reputation for creating well-designed, sustainable and innovative buildings and places. Established by Ted Cullinan in 1965, we are now 30-strong and work in a single studio in Islington, north London. We pride ourselves on our collaborative working relationships and our co-operative structure gives us unusual flexibility to respond effectively to our clients, allowing them to benefit from the skills and ideas of the entire team. We have extensive experience in the residential sector, from individual houses to masterplanning whole neighbourhoods. For more information, visit: Cullinan Studio

For more architects and designers, visit our: Directory of Architects and Designers

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: Eldridge Smerin

April 26, 2013

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

Swains Lane, London, N6

The Lawns, South Grove, N6

Statement

Eldridge Smerin was established in 1998. Architect Nick Eldridge was an associate of Sir Norman Foster, working on projects in London and in Nimes. He later became Design Director at John McAslan and Partners for projects in London, Italy and Turkey. The practice’s first project, The Lawns , a house in the Highgate Conservation Area in London, won awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects and Civic Trust and was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize. Although most well known for contemporary houses, the practice has also worked for the British Library, the Design Council, O2 and Selfridges. The more recent house in Highgate Cemetery won a RIBA award and was shortlisted for RIBA London’s Building of the Year, and was nominated for both the Manser Medal and Stephen Lawrence Award. In 2009 the practice won ‘Architect of the Year’ in BD’s awards. Co-founded with Piers Smerin, Eldridge Smerin recently went their separate ways as a practice. Visit Eldridge Smerin’s website here and Smerin Architects

Eldridge Smerin’s The Lawns is on the market with The Modern House.

For more architects and designers, visit our: Directory of Architects and Designers

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: Hal Higgins

April 19, 2013

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

Little Manor, London NW7

A graduate of both the Architectural Association and the School of Planning and Regional Research, Hal Higgins (1926-2011) established Higgins Ney & Partners with Peter Ney in 1954. Having won a private house commission in Hampstead, the pair launched the uncompromisingly modern style that was to become their trademark. They went on to build a house in Highgate that was listed at Grade II in 2006, and another in West Sussex that is mentioned by Pevsner. They also carried out a number of high-density, low-rise housing schemes, including the ‘High-Deck’ design in Fulham, which received a Civic Trust award in 1970. From 1986, Hal Higgins was Chairman of Higgins Gardner & Partners, which focused on the adaptation or alteration of historic buildings. Notable was his design for the Bank of England Museum, which accurately reinstated Sir John Soane’s Bank Stock Office.

The Modern House has Hal Higgins’ Little Manor in London NW7 on the market at the moment.

For more architects and designers, visit our: Directory of Architects and Designers

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: Chamberlin, Powell & Bon

April 12, 2013

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

The Barbican

The practice was founded in 1952 by Geoffry Powell (1920-1999), Peter Chamberlin (1919-1978) and Christoph Bon (1921-1999), following Powell’s win in the 1951 architectural competition for the Golden Lane Estate in central London. The three founding partners were teaching at Kingston Polytechnic when they each entered the design competition with the agreement that, should any of them win, they would form a partnership with the other two to deliver the project. After completion of the Golden Lane Estate, the practice was commissioned again by the Corporation of the City of London to design another housing development on an adjacent site: the Barbican Estate. The work of Chamberlin, Powell & Bon was strongly influenced by Le Corbusier, and their two seminal estates are listed in recognition of their architectural importance.

The Modern House has recently agreed the sale of a rare Type 115 apartment in the Barbican and we have a one-bedroom flat in Great Arthur House on the Golden Lane Estate currently for sale.

For more architects and designers, visit our: Directory of Architects and Designers

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: Studio Octopi

March 22, 2013

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

Orchard House

Park Avenue South

A Room for London

Statement

Studio Octopi are an award-winning architecture practice established in 2005 by Chris Romer-Lee and James Lowe. The practice primarily works in the residential, commercial and education sectors on special or unique projects that require an exceptional response to a challenging brief. Our work has been noted for its inventive construction detailing and bespoke designs. In 2010 the practice won a RIBA Award for a residential extension in North London and in 2011 our first new-build house in Wiltshire won a Silver at the Roses Design Awards.

Key Residential Projects
Orchard House
Park Avenue South
Gallery House

Website
Studio Octopi

For more architects and designers, visit our: Directory of Architects and Designers

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: Dixon Jones

March 8, 2013

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

Villa in the Var, France

Architect Statement

Dixon Jones was established by Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones in the 1980s, and is best known for its work on the Royal Opera House, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery, Somerset House, and, more recently, the transformation of Exhibition Road in London. For domestic projects, Edward Jones designed the Studio House in Chelsea London in 1976, and in collaboration with his architect wife Margot Jones, designed Villa Jones in France in 2003 for themselves. The building is long in plan and narrow in section, responding directly to the stepped terraces formed by dry stone walls, traditionally used for the cultivation of olives. Villa Jones has been published numerously in France and in England, and won an RIBA European Award. For more information and others like this visit: The Modern House Directory of Architects and Designers

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: F.R.S. Yorke, architect and writer

March 3, 2013

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

Francis Reginald Stevens Yorke (1906-1962), known professionally as FRS Yorke and informally as Kay, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and became one of the first English pioneers of the International Style in the United Kingdom. He trained at Birmingham School of Architecture alongside Frederick Gibberd, Richard Sheppard and Robert Furneaux Jordan. In the early part of his career, Yorke was a notable writer for The Architect’s Journal and author of several books including The Modern House (1934), which provided a detailed knowledge of modern European architecture, including 14 pages of British examples. He later went on to write The Modern House in England (1937). It was only after World War II that Yorke had commercial success as an architect. His practice with Rosenberg and Mardall (YRM) was then able to transform Britain’s urban landscape with new housing, schools and universities. One of his most renowned buildings is St Thomas’ Hospital in London. For more information visit our: Directory of Architects and Designers

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: Colin St John Wilson

February 22, 2013

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

Colin St John “Sandy” Wilson (1922-2007), one of the key figures in British architecture over the last century, has proven immeasurably influential not only as an architect but also as a writer, a teacher and patron. He is most famous for designing the British Library in King’s Cross, London. Referred to as the “thirty-year war” project due to its epic length, the building eventually opened in 1998, and Wilson was given a knighthood in the same year. Wilson’s architectural education began at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and ended at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London in 1949 after the interruption of the Second World War. Subsequently he went to work at the London County Council architect departments for five years, alongside many of the great architects of the 20th century including Leslie Martin, James Stirling and Alison and Peter Smithson. During this time he was part of the Independent Group and exhibited in the “This is Tomorrow” exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery. Wilson returned to teach at Cambridge in 1956 and retained a position there until his death. His last building, the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, was completed with Long & Kentish (of whom his second wife Mary Jane Long was a founding partner) in 2006. He donated more than 400 artworks from his own collection to the gallery, by artists including Eduardo Paolozzi, Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, Lucian Freud and Walter Sickert. For other architect profiles, see: our Directory of Architects and Designers

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ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK

ARCHITECT OF THE WEEK: Peter Aldington for creating a magical transition between house and garden