Call for Entries: 50 Years of London Architecture

Non-members of the club including building owners, contractors, consultants and enthusiasts are all invited to submit projects.

Over 150 buildings will be exhibited during the London Festival of Architecture 2010. The exhibition will be the Architecture Club’s first exhibition of this kind for over 60 years and will be held in the Mall Galleries June 19-26.

Buildings will be included if they are either significant in the development of architecture in London/Britain, they represent a particular strand of architectural thinking or they are excellent examples of their kind  − both small and large projects are welcomed.

A topic revisited

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Architecture Club held a number of exhibitions on Modern Architecture – often in Grosvenor House before it was pulled down to be replaced by the present hotel.

In 1947 it published, with Country Life, a book on Recent English Architecture 1920-1940. In the introduction to the book Lord Esher, then Chairman, wrote: “It seemed that the most useful contribution to the future that the Club could make was to publish a representative selection of English architecture in preparation for the time when fine building can again be undertaken and its progressive evolution be resumed.” The Executive Committee of the Club thought it was time to revisit the topic. 

The Architecture Club was founded in 1922 by the editor of The Spectator J.C. Squire − grandfather of Michael Squire − “to enlarge the public appreciation of good architecture and the allied arts, and especially the best work of today”. The writer Thomas Hardy, who trained as an architect, was its first President. Membership is limited to 200 architects and 200 non-architects. The current Chairman is Sir John Tusa and the Secretary is Peter Murray.

• Anyone who would like to submit projects for consideration should email a 100 word description, credits and low-res images to archclub@wordsearch.co.uk. The closing date for entries is Monday March 1 2010 and the selected list will be announced on Wednesday March 31 2010.  There is a fee for entries that are selected for the exhibition.

Have your say

You must sign in to make a comment.