There has been a groundswell of interest in modernist architecture in recent years, particularly buildings from the second half of the twentieth century. Individuals and groups are engaging with modernist environments in the form of popular histories, documentaries and community projects, and digital and social media. Alongside this growing popularity however, many of these buildings are under threat from demolition and regeneration.

Modern Futures explores these trends, their connections, and how more popular and creative engagements might be used to inform the uncertain future of modernist architecture.

Christine Wall, “You’d concrete and say a wee prayer”—the South Bank Arts Complex and new notions of value in modern architecture
Esther Johnson, Mid-Century Modern Living
Richard Brook, Mainstream Modern
Matthew Whitfield, The Suburbs Project
Matthew Steele & Angela Connelly, Surveying Greater Manchester’s Sacred Suburbs
Andy Lock, with Iain Anderson, The use of photography in recording the legacy of the modern movement in Britain’s post-war landscapes
Eddy Rhead, From Here to Modernity—Manchester Modernist Society
Sally Stone, Gate 81
Verity-Jane Keefe, The Mobile Museum
Ian Waites, ‘Spontaneous Estate Evolution’—Research/Practice interventions on a 1960s council estate
Michael Gallagher, Architecture about us
Natalie Bradbury, Bubbling away in the background—William Mitchell’s Harlow fountains
John Pendlebury & Aidan While, Post-war social housing: conservation and regeneration

...

Hannah Neate is a lecturer in Human Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Ruth Craggs is a lecturer in Cultural and Historical Geography at King’s College, London.