By the 1930s the Liverpool School of Architecture was the most famous British school of architecture in the world, promoting modern architecture and city planning internationally. This book looks at the cultural environment in Liverpool at the turn of the twentieth century which enabled such an important institution to come to fruition. It examines attitudes towards design practice through the work of patrons, practitioners, institutions and theorists in the city, and considers the way their ideas were formed by national and international trends. From a city microcosm of contesting design aesthetics emerged a unique synthesis that was to exert a profound international influence in architectural and planning design.

By the 1930s the Liverpool School of Architecture was the most famous British school of architecture in the world, promoting modern architecture and city planning internationally. This book looks at the cultural environment in Liverpool at the turn of the twentieth century which enabled such an important institution to come to fruition. It examines attitudes towards design practice through the work of patrons, practitioners, institutions and theorists in the city, and considers the way their ideas were formed by national and international trends. From a city microcosm of contesting design aesthetics emerged a unique synthesis that was to exert a profound international influence in architectural and planning design.

Document from the year 2012 in the subject History - Miscellaneous, grade: 71/100, , course: MArch, language: English, abstract: The present study explores the transformation of the city of Liverpool, from a British commercial city into a centre of culture, architecture, art and sculpture from the late 19th century to the end of 20th century. It analyses the lives, careers and artistic family trees of two of the most important sculptors of the time, Herbert Tyson Smith and Edward Carter Preston (including the potter Julia Carter Preston). Also, it explores medal design, sculpture and architectural decoration in Liverpool at the period, with detailed analysis on the sculptures of the Anglican Cathedral and the Martins Bank building. The period from 1880’s until 1960’s was enough for the Liverpool architects and artists of the time to produce an incredible collection of sculptures and architectural decoration which accompanied the modern Beaux Arts, steel framed buildings. Finally, the architectural decorations, medals, and sculptures were out of favour by the late 20th century and also, the artistic family trees of Herbert Tyson Smith and Edward Carter Preston came to an end after their grandchildren’s generation, with none of them having become a professional sculptor or artist.

A showcase of the artistic output of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Herbert MacNair, Margaret and Frances Macdonald, known simply as 'The Four'.

Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew were pioneers of Modern Architecture in Britain and its former colonies from the late 1920s through to the early 1970s. As a barometer of twentieth century architecture, their work traces the major cultural developments of that century from the development of modernism, its spread into the late-colonial arena and finally, to its re-evaluation that resulted in a more expressive, formalist approach in the post-war era. This book thoroughly examines Fry and Drew's highly influential 'Tropical Architecture' in West Africa and India, whilst also discussing their British work, such as their post World War II projects for the Festival of Britain, Harlow New Town, Pilkington Brothers’ Headquarters and Coychurch Crematorium. It highlights the collaborative nature of Fry and Drew's work, including schemes undertaken with Elizabeth Denby, Walter Gropius, Denys Lasdun, Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier. Positioning their architecture, writing and educational endeavours within a wider context, this book illustrates the significant artistic and cultural contributions made by Fry and Drew throughout their lengthy careers.

Designs on Democracy examines a pivotal period in the formation of the modern profession of architecture in Britain. It shows how architects sought to meet the newly articulated demands of a mass democracy in the wake of the First World War. It does so by providing a vivid picture of architectural culture in interwar London, the Imperial metropolis, drawing on histories of design, practice, professionalism, and representation. Most accounts of this period tend to deal exclusively with the emergence of Modernism; this study takes a different approach, encompassing a much broader perspective on the liberal professional consensus that held sway, including architecture's mainstream and its so-called avant-garde. Readers will encounter a number of unexpected narratives, episodes, and projects: from the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley to the rebuilding of Waterloo Bridge; from the impact of the Great Slump to the passing of the first Architects Registration Act (1931); from Trystan Edwards's radical housing campaigns to the Londoners' League's unorthodox preservationism. Pulling in a range of evidence and sources - periodicals, exhibitions, photographs, and films, alongside architecture - it evokes architectural culture by listening carefully to the tenor of its discourse. Architecture's public realm is thus analysed through sometimes surprising phrases: 'manners' to understand ideals of public propriety, 'vigilance' to explore public proprietorship, 'slump' to contextualise the emergence of public relations, 'machine-craft' to understand the forging of public institutions. The volume spans the excitable discussions about the reconstruction of the profession for a democratic age after WWI, to reconstruction and planning following WWII, providing an ambitious revision of how we can understand twentieth century architecture in Britain.

Accessible and comprehensive, written by the current President of the International Planning History Society, this volume provides readers with a highly visual account of historical, contemporary and international projects. Looking at the ways in which the City Beautiful movement influenced the design and development of Australian cities, this pioneering national study surveys the ruling ideas, influences, outcomes and enduring legacies of the early artistic turn in Australian urban design. With the return of the American City Beautiful movement to the forefront of urban design, Designing Australia’s Cities is a relevant account of the ways in which this movement influenced and shaped Australian city design, but more importantly sheds light on a planning culture that stretches far beyond Australia and is of increasing relevance worldwide today. Laying bare an important design and reform movement, whose under-appreciated legacy is clearly evident in urban landscapes today, this book is ideal for students of planning, architecture, urban design and the history of planning.

During the nineteenth century Liverpool became the heart of an international maritime network. As the 'second city' of Empire, its merchants and shipowners operated within a transnational commercial and financial system, while its trading connections stimulated the development of new markets and their integration within an increasingly global economy. This ground-breaking volume brings together ten original contributions that reflect upon the development of the city's business community from the early-nineteenth century to the outbreak of the First World War with an emphasis on the period from 1851 to 1912. It offers the first detailed analysis of Liverpool's merchant community within a conceptual and historiographical framework which focuses on the economic, social and cultural role of business elites in the nineteenth century. It explores the extent to which business success was predicated on the maintenance of networks of trust; analyses the importance of business culture in structuring commercial operations; and discusses the role of ethics, trust and reputation within the changing framework of the business environment. Particular attention is paid to the role of women and the important contribution of the family to commercial success and the maintenance of social networks. Changes in business practice and social networks are also examined within a spatial context in order to assess the impact of the development of a distinct commercial centre and the clustering of commercial activity on interaction, reputation and trust, while particular attention is paid to the effect of suburbanization on existing associational networks, the social cohesiveness of business culture, and the cultural identity of the merchant community as a whole.

Thoroughly illustrated with images of the buildings under discussion, advertisements, and other historical photographs, Britain is an authoritative, yet highly accessible, account of twentieth-century British architecture.