STEVE ANDREW enjoys an account of the many communities that flourished independently of and in resistance to the empires of old
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Ugliness and Judgement: On Architecture in the Public Eye by Timothy Hyde
Ugly but entertaining truths about architectural controversies over the last three centuries
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THE CONSEQUENCES of some buildings being considered “ugly” and the social impact of such aesthetic judgement over three centuries in Britain are explored in this engaging study by Timothy Hyde.
En route, Hyde considers architectural controversies in London surrounding the gothic revival Houses of Parliament, the brutalist concrete of the South Bank and the historicist novelty of No 1 Poultry.
They became embroiled in art, science, religion, political economy and government, with architects as diverse as Christopher Wren, John Soane, James Stirling and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe summoned by would-be august tribunals of aesthetic judgement in Parliament, the courts and public inquiries.
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