Architecture
London’s most modern building looks to the future
The BT Tower floats above the city, a reminder of 1960s optimism and a faith in technology that is in short supply today
‘A model of social responsibility’ – almshouses in the modern age
Hostels or hospitals for the old and vulnerable were first established in the Middle Ages, but they still have an important role to play in society
Dreaming spires – the restless imagination of Imre Makovecz
The Hungarian architect with a penchant for the fantastical left behind a series of provocative buildings
Building back better in Britain and Ireland
The Reformation was a disaster for British architecture, argues an impressive new book – and the country’s approach to building design has never been the same
The Victorian chapel designed by a high priest of colour
William Burges’s transformation of the chapel of Worcester College in Oxford doubles as an all-out assault on the senses and a scathing critique of the previous architect
Building Indian modernism in Ahmedabad
The Sarabhai family were great patrons of modernist architecture in the city – and Gira Sarabhai’s contribution in particular deserves to be better known
The magazine that wanted to remake architecture
An exhibition at RIBA reveals how, in the 1960s, Architectural Review took a radical stand for planning that focused on people
When French theory shaped high-minded buildings
Deconstructivism wasn’t exactly a movement, but its practitioners – from Frank Gehry to Bernard Tschumi – certainly caused a great stir
Man about town – around modern London with Ian Nairn
A reissue of the architectural critic’s guide to new buildings in the capital is just as fresh as it was 60 years ago
The baroque Edwardian buildings of Edwin Rickards
The architect’s highly ornamented designs have more in common with the work of his European peers
Can Helsinki’s modern architecture grow old gracefully?
Finland’s questing version of modernism, as championed by Alvar Aalto, went hand in hand with the development of social democracy
Genteel flats for genteel people
The mansion block has often reconciled Londoners who can’t afford actual mansions to the realities of apartment-living
The historic naval church that is in shipshape condition again
The former Dockyard Church in Sheerness has been sensitively restored and converted into a community hub
The true test of a building is the passing of time
At RIBA a film by Jim Stephenson shows that architecture can have a long and unpredictable afterlife
The saving of St Mary-le-Strand
Pedestrianisation means that one of London’s finest churches is now the centre of attention again
Is the grand museum entrance now on its way out?
In the pursuit of greater accessibility, institutions are making themselves oddly unapproachable
First-class results in Cambridge
A new library at Magdalene College and a dining hall at Homerton make the most of modern craftsmanship
The Edwardian architects who built the British Empire
When it came to projecting British power abroad, Christopher Wren proved a handy source of inspiration in the creation of an ‘English Renaissance’ style
In post-war Paris, housing could be really radical
The French architect Renée Gailhoustet designed some of the most ingenious post-war schemes built in Paris – and still lives in one of them today
The other-worldly architecture of Rudolf Steiner
The mystically inspired polymath was never a professional architect, but his haunting buildings are among modernism’s most curious structures
‘Nothing like this had been seen in England’ – on Banqueting House at 400
Banqueting House is one of the most extraordinary buildings in London – and it’s a huge shame it’s so inaccessible
What did Napoleon really want from his architects?
The emperor of France longed to rival the emperors of ancient Rome, reorganising the great cities of Europe and creating a few of his own
Shutting up shop: an elegy for the department store dream
These vast, bustling buildings were once emblems of city life – but they’ve been in decline for years and the pandemic has only hastened their demise
Keep cool: the concrete castles of Louis Kahn
The architect wreathed his buildings in mystical language – but his modern citadels are clearly among the great achievements of 20th-century architecture
Richard Serra, man of steel (1938–2024)