Modernist #45
Municipal
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Modernist #45 - Municipal
The local authority, the borough council, was the furthest away from central government, but many of its officers were fiercely proud of their municipality and their role in shaping its environment for the better. Modernisation was consensual and seen as a civic enterprise as well as an... Read More
Modernist #45 - Municipal
The local authority, the borough council, was the furthest away from central government, but many of its officers were fiercely proud of their municipality and their role in shaping its environment for the better. Modernisation was consensual and seen as a civic enterprise as well as an economic imperative. ‘M’ for Municipal, here, could easily be (small) ‘p’ for political.
This issue is a love letter and a lament for the architecture and design of the state and its structures. At a time when the UK government is ideologically orientated towards a ‘lean state’, it seems relevant to ask, ‘what did the state ever do for us?’
I hope that this edition of The Modernist gently provokes the reader to consider who and what we design for, and why it might be important to us all.
Richard Brook (guest editor)
Richard Brook is the Director of Research at Lancaster University’s School of Architecture
The Modernist is a quarterly printed publication about 20th century modernist architecture and design. Published in the North of England and now spreading its tentacles across the world.