Sunday 21:00
BBC Four

Unité d’Habitation in Marseille, by Le Corbusier

This is the second of a two-part documentary in which Jonathan Meades makes the case for 20th-century concrete Brutalist architecture, and its growing popularity.

This episode focuses on the massive influence of Le Corbusier‘s post-war work. Meades sets out to reclaim the reputation of buildings that, once much maligned, he argues stood for optimism and grandeur.

For more information, and to download the first episode in this series, visit BBC Four. For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Designs of the Year 2014
Design Museum, Shad Thames, London, SE1 2YD

Housing scheme by Alison Brooks Architects

Designs of the Year is an exhibition of cutting-edge designs in global architecture, digital, fashion, furniture, graphic, product and transport design.

The nominees for 2014 include international designers such as Zaha Hadid, John Pawson and David Chipperfield, alongside crowd-funded start-ups and student projects. A winner from each category and one overall winner will be chosen and announced later in the year.

This year’s architectural nominations include a housing scheme in Harlow by Alison Brooks Architects, and a design by Tezuka Architects for a house where children undergoing chemotherapy treatment can live with their families.

For more information, visit the Design Museum.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD
Tue 11 March 2014, 18:30 – 20:00

Top and middle: Hopkins House in Hampstead. Bottom: Rogers House in Wimbledon

At this one-off event, five era-defining architects will come together to tell their story of how, inspired by new technologies and engineering, they transformed British architecture and ushered in a new High Tech style of building that had a worldwide impact. For more information visit RIBA.

The work of these architects is also on display at the exhibition The Brits Who Built the Modern World, which runs until 27 May.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Jane Drew: An Introduction
Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) until 23 Mar 2014

University College, Ibadan: Residential College by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. Photography: RIBA

Exhibition installations. Photography: Mark Blower

This exhibition features artworks and books related to the British modern architect Jane Drew (1911-1996). Drew designed modern social housing in England and abroad during and after World War II. During her career she worked with Maxwell Fry, her husband, on schools and universities in West Africa, and with Pierre Jeanneret on housing in Chandigarh in north India. For more information visit ICA.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

PM Gallery & House, Walpole Park, Mattock Lane, London W5 5EQ
21 March – 11 May 2014

Le Roche-Jeanneret house, Paris, 1923, by Le Corbusier © Richard Pare

Villa Savoye, Poissy, 1929-30, by Le Corbusier © Richard Pare

Melnikov House salon, Moscow, 1998, by Konstantin Melnikov © Richard Pare

Unité d’habitation, Marseilles, 1946-52, by Le Corbusier © Richard Pare

This exhibition celebrates the work of the British photographer Richard Pare and the buildings of two of the most influential modernist architects, Le Corbusier and Russian architect Konstantin Melnikov. The collection of images, taken over several decades, reveal Pare’s quest to document the career of both architects. For more information visit PM Gallery & House.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

The ABA Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EL
March 25, 19:00 – 20:30

High & Over

At this event, Sally Rendel, co-author of a 2008 monograph on Connell Ward & Lucas, will be speaking about the work of this influential architecture practice.

Amyas Connell’s debut building at Amersham, ‘High and Over’, built in 1929, is widely acknowledged as the first modern house in the English countryside. Basil Ward teamed up with Connell in the 1930s, and they completed a succession of houses using modern construction techniques. They were joined by Colin Lucas, whose bungalow at Bourne End was heralded as the first monolithic reinforced concrete house. The trio worked together until the end of the decade, creating some seminal private houses, flats and a film studio.

For more information visit Docomomo. For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Auction: Tuesday 29 April, 6pm
Howick Place, London SW1P 1BB
Viewing: 23 – 29 April

Alvar Aalto Cantilevered armchair 1931/ Steven Holl Prototype Porosity Bench 2006

House by Steven Holl Architects

‘The Architect’ is an auction event hosted by Phillips. It is designed to celebrate the contributions architects have made to our environment through the furniture, objects and equipment they’ve invented in response to the buildings they’ve conceived.

Pieces by Frank Gehry, Alvar Aalto, Zaha Hadid and Steven Holl are due to be up for auction, and there’s an opportunity to view the lots before they go under the hammer. For more information and to order a catalogue, visit Phillips.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Solone Internazionale del Mobile
Milan Fairgrounds, Rho Pavilions: Pavilion 9
8th-13th April

David Chipperfield’s Berlin home © Davide Pizzigoni

Zaha Hadid’s London home © Davide Pizzigoni

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas’ Parisian home © Aki Furudate

Shigeru Ban’s Tokyo home © Hiroyuki Hirai

‘Where Architects Live’ is an exhibition based on new photography of the homes of eight leading contemporary architects: Shigeru Ban, Mario Bellini, David Chipperfield, Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, Zaha Hadid, Marcio Kogan, Daniel Libeskind and Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai.

The exhibition is one of a number of satellite events taking place at this year’s design and furniture fair, Solone Internazionale del Mobile, in Milan. For more information, please visit Salone del Mobile. For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Thursday 8th May, 7pm
Cinema 1, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

This behind-the-scenes documentary seeks to expose the architectural competition process in raw detail. It follows five star architects – Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, Dominique Perrault, Zaha Hadid and Norman Foster – who have been invited to put forward designs for the future National Museum of Art of Andorra. For more information, visit The Architecture Foundation.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Hauer-King House

Street-Porter House by CZWG

Alexander Fleming House (now called Metro Central Heights)

This collection of television programmes examining the triumphs and failures of post-war architecture, from the BBC archives, is available to watch online.

The collection features a defence of Alexander Fleming House by critic Stephen Bayley, first broadcast in 1988; an introduction by journalist Janet Street-Porter to the house designed for her by architect Piers Gough, first broadcast in 1991; an appraisal of Hauer-King House presented by architect Will Alsop, and a programme about Alton Housing Estate in Roehampton presented by Sir Richard Rogers, both first broadcast in 1996.

For more information on the series, visit BBC Four Collections. For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

9 July 2014 – 12 October 2014
Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, London SE1 2YD

Korman House, Louis Kahn

Esherick House, Louis Kahn

Shapiro House, Louis Kahn

Genel House, Louis Kahn

This exhibition about the work of American architect Louis Kahn (1901-1974) will include architectural models, original drawings, travel sketches, photographs and films.

Louis Kahn is regarded as one of the most influential modern architects of the 20th century. In his lifetime he was awarded both the AIA Gold Medal and the RIBA Gold Medal. Kahn worked with simple materials, notably brick and concrete. His style of architecture was monumental and monolithic. He is famous for his provocative proposals for buildings and his teaching, as well as his built works.

Highlights of the exhibition include a model of the City Tower that Kahn designed for Philadelphia (1952-57) and previously unseen film footage shot by Kahn’s son Nathaniel Kahn, director of the film ‘My Architect’.

For more information visit the Design Museum. For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Exhibition (15)
Directed by Joanna Hogg
Curzon Renoir

Exhibition, the latest film by British writer-director Joanna Hogg, is set in a modernist house in west London. The film is dedicated to the architect of the house, James Melvin, who designed it for himself and his wife in 1969. It has since been modernised in parts by Berlin-based practice Sauerbruch Hutton Architects.

The film revolves around two married artists, played by Liam Gillick and Viv Albertine (a former client of The Modern House!). It explores their relationship with the house, which they have lived in for the duration of their 20-year relationship, as they draw close to putting it on the market. Its spiral staircase, sliding doors and glass windows form the main set pieces of the film. Images: Curzon Cinemas

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Until 24 Aug 2014
Pitzhanger Manor House and Gallery, London W5

Images: Architectural drawing, Alvar Aalto Foundation; Paimio Chair (1931-2)

This exhibition brings together the work of modernist architect and designer Alvar Aalto, and contemporary Finnish photographer Ola Kolehmainen.

Pitzhanger Manor House features a collection of original house designs and plans by Aalto. There are also examples of his chairs, tables, lights and textiles, as well as glassware designed by his first wife and collaborator, Aino Aalto. Kolehmainen’s photographs, which examine repetitive patterns in architecture, are exhibited in Pitzhanger Manor Gallery – a modernist gallery built in 1939.

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) was the most important Finnish architect of the 20th century, and a central figure in international modernism. His sculptural and highly functional furniture, produced in the 1930s, remains influential today.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

This tour through central London, on Saturday 30th August, will look anew at the shape and form of a number of buildings, in light of Louis Kahn’s use of geometry. The tour, organised by The Design Museum and Open-City, will be led by Richard Weston, Professor of Architecture at Cardiff University and author of the book ‘Modernism’. It accompanies the current exhibition at The Design Museum, Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture, which runs until 12th October.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

‘The Anatomy of a Building: Denys Lasdun and the Royal College of Physicians’
Royal College of Physicians, London NW1
8th Sept – 13th Feb. Mon – Fri 9am-5pm

This exhibition marks 100 years since the birth of Sir Denys Lasdun (1914-2001) and the 50th anniversary of the opening of his iconic Grade I-listed building, the Royal College of Physicians. Lasdun was a controversial pioneer of modern British architecture, and a significant figure in 20th-century architecture. The exhibition will include rarely-seen original models of Lasdun’s best-known buildings, including the National Theatre and brutalist masterpiece Keeling House. It will also feature drawings, letters and photographs from private collections and the Lasdun Archive at the Royal Institute of British Architects. The Royal College of Physicians, set in Regent’s Park, is considered a modernist masterpiece, and one of London’s most important post-war buildings. For more information visit the Royal College of Physicians website.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Oslo-based firm Rintala Eggertsson Architects has installed a series of wooden structures on a beach in northern Norway for Salt , a new festival being held in celebration of the Arctic landscape. The temporary, portable structures, inspired by fishing racks, are designed to display artwork and host musical performances.

Salt is situated on Sandhornøya, a mountainous island north of the Arctic Circle. Visitors to the festival can stay in eco-friendly beach shacks designed and developed by Joar Nango and architect Tone Selmer-Olsen.

The festival, which has just opened, runs for a full year, until September 6th 2015. Spin-off festivals after this are planned for northern locations including Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Ireland and Scotland. Images: Gunnar Holmstad/ Rintala Eggertsson Architects

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

 The Tree House

Gingerbread House. Photography: Chloe Dewe Mathews

Stapleton Hall Road

Walter Segal self-build houses. Photography: Ian White

Forest Mews

Open House London takes place this weekend, revealing some of London’s best architectural sites. Here are our top 5 picks for residential architecture, in no particular order. Check the website and book ahead if necessary.

1. The Tree House in Tower Hamlets is a timber-framed, timber-clad house extension, designed by 6a for architecture critic Rowan Moore. The project picked up the RIBA London Small Project Award this year and is on the Manser Medal shortlist. The building and the timber deck that connects it to the main house curve around to accommodate a tree in the garden, giving the project its name.

2. Architect Laura Dewe Mathews designed the wonderful Gingerbread House in Hackney for herself in 2012, and in 2013 it won the AJ Small Projects Awards. The building exploits a small urban plot behind a former Victorian box factory, and was built using Cross-Laminated Timber panels. Its name comes from the facade of rounded cedar scales.

3. Stapleton Hall Road is the latest development from award-winning developers Solidspace. The two split-level houses in Haringey, by architect Stephen Taylor, are light, airy and characterful. Completed in 2014, they are a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional Victorian family house. Both properties are currently on the market with The Modern House.

4. The Walter Segal self-build houses are a close of 13 timber-frame houses built in the 80s using the ‘Segal Method’, a modular system of design and construction pioneered by the celebrated Swiss architect Walter Segal. Two of the properties are opening their doors for the event. Their sustainable features include solar electric, water and space heating.

5. Forest Mews is approached from a quiet street in Forest Hill via a set of laser-cut steel gates and tree-lined drive. The three mews houses, by architects Robert and Jessica Barker, have vertical gardens and share a geometric courtyard made up of gravel slabs, grasses and wildflowers. One of the three houses is currently available to let with The Modern House.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

‘Constructing Worlds: Photography and Architecture in the Modern Age’
Barbican Art Gallery
25 September 2014 – 11 January 2015

© Nadav Kander. Courtesy Flowers Gallery

© Andreas Gursky: The Copan building. São Paulo, 2002

© Nadav Kander. Courtesy Flowers Gallery

© Guy Tillim. Courtesy Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg

© Chris Jackson / Getty Images

Constructing Worlds is an exhibition of architectural photography from the 1930s to the present day, examining the role it has played in the way we view our built environment. The work of over 18 photographers, including Hélène Binet, Lucien Hervé, Ed Ruscha, Julius Shulman, Nadav Kander and Guy Tillim is featured. Over 250 photographs are being exhibited, covering the work of architects including Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Pierre Koenig and Charles and Ray Eames. The buildings on display range from New York’s first skyscrapers to post-war California’s glamorous suburban homes.

Coinciding with the exhibition is a season of films and talks, City Visions, exploring the ways in which cinema has engaged with the phenomenon of the modern city and the experience of urban life. The series includes a screening of Oscar Niemeyer – Life is a Breath of Air , Architecture on Film: The Airstrip – Decampment of Modernism, Part III and the critically acclaimed Man with a Movie Camera.

Also running, in the foyer, is the first in a series of displays exploring the architecture and design of the Barbican, The Barbican Exhibition: Chamberlin, Powell & Bon Architects. For more information on all three exhibitions visit The Barbican website.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

100 Buildings 100 Years: Views of British Architecture since 1914
Royal Academy, The Architecture Space, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD
11 October 2014 – 1 February 2015. Sat–Thurs 10am-6pm. Fri 10am–10pm. Free entrance

Housing by Connell, Ward and Lucas © John Allan

Renold Building by W. Arthur Gibbon © Manchester City Council

Benton Park School by Sir John Burnet © Sarah J Duncan

De La Warr Pavillion by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff © Alan Powers

This exhibition presents one building for each year since 1914, as selected by supporters of the Twentieth Century Society – which exists to safeguard the heritage of architecture and design in Britain from 1914 onwards. It celebrates the fact that there are now 100 years worth of buildings to campaign for. The chosen buildings range from grand architectural icons to examples of vernacular building types and structures from the war years. Together they provide a vivid illustration of the diversity of the architecture of the last 100 years. The society has created an online gallery of the selected buildings and on Friday 28th November a variety of speakers will make a case for their chosen building, in ‘Britain’s Greatest Twentieth-Century Building: The Debate‘, at the Geological Society. For more information visit the Royal Academy website.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.

Thursday 30th October: 6.00pm/ 7.30pm
Gospel Oak, Camden

Ravenswood © Tim Crocker

An interesting opportunity to have a tour of a terraced house at Ravenswood, a modernist estate in north London designed by Robert Ballie for St Pancras Housing Association in 1967. Located on the edge of the estate, the house has been adapted and expanded by Maccreanor Lavington Architects and design studio Khaa. The extension, designed to complement the character of the original building, has bespoke window frames, cladding and floor in douglas fir. The one-hour evening tour will be conducted by Kay Hughes of Khaa and Richard Lavington of Maccreanor Lavington. For more information and to book tickets, visit Open-City London Architecture Tours.

For modern properties for sale and to let in the UK, visit The Modern House.