This book explores the topic of architecture as a component of public discourse, focussing on the reception of four high-profile developments in the City of London (the UK capital’s financial district) dating from the final years of the twentieth century. During this time, the City’s mode of operation, culture and built environment were all transformed as a result of the market deregulation process labelled ‘Big Bang’. It was also a period which saw the subject of architecture attracting public and media attention, becoming a prominent feature of national conversation.
The book examines the extensive and often contentious discourse generated by the four case study projects. It looks at how these projects were viewed and interpreted retrospectively, when they had become part of the City’s long and rich history. Topics explored include building and urban form on the eve of the millennium; the place of new development in a setting of unique historic importance; the ‘iconic’ building and ‘celebrity’ architect; and the role of (then) Prince Charles as an architectural critic. Also referenced are many of the broader issues of the day, including the Thatcher government policies and the preoccupations concerning London’s infrastructure, public realm, inner city areas and inequalities. Furthermore, ranging across the discourse is the theme of the relationship between buildings and global finance, foreshadowing later controversies concerning London’s post-millennial towers and their impact on the capital’s skyline.
The book will be of interest to researchers and students of late-twentieth-century British architecture and urban development, London’s history and UK public discourse in the 1980s, a decade of profound political, economic and social change.
By:
Stephen Rosser
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 530g
ISBN: 9781032798189
ISBN 10: 1032798181
Series: Routledge Research in Architecture
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 30 June 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
List of figures Acknowledgements 1. Introduction The architectural context The Big Bang context The research context Overarching themes and case studies 2. Bold vision or destructive obsession? Peter Palumbo and the Mansion House project The project narrative Peter Palumbo: Inheritance and identity The Mies scheme unveiled Mies in a changed world Militant conservationists The nation’s best known architectural critic The theology of the New Right The Stirling version Modes and makers of discourse Conclusion 3. The City’s first ‘iconic’ building: Lloyd’s of London The project narrative Another Pompidou? The building and the client Modernism compromised? In dialogue with history Building and context Building and users Public face, private world The building and Lloyd’s trauma Icon of the age Conclusion 4. The burden of history, the challenge of context: Paternoster Square The project narrative Reconnecting with the past Holford, Pevsner and their legacy Prince Charles and his public Style wars resumed A test case for classicism Conclusion 5. Big Bang City, expansionist City, Americanised City: Broadgate The project narrative Mega-project, enlightened developer New offices for a new City Private sector placemaking Theatre of Big Bang Globalised architecture for globalising clients Broadgate and its neighbours A monument to the era Conclusion 6. Conclusion and afterword Bibliography Index
Stephen Rosser holds degrees in history and the history of art from the Universities of Oxford and London and completed his PhD at Birkbeck, University of London. As an independent scholar, his research interests centre principally on the subject of architectural writing.
