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WEA course "Architecture of London"
Autumn term 2009 - Course Report
This most interesting and well supported 10 week course was presented by Brian Adams. Brian led us through the architecture of London from the medieval period through to the 21st Century and Modernism.
Stressing his personal favourites, Brian showed us the different styles, illustrating his narrative with slides and discussing the influences on the architects and architecture of London’s buildings. Brian explained how the architects of any particular period were influenced by the social, technological and economic environment of the time and also by the classical architecture of the Greeks and Romans. We were told of the many elements and materials of building design and became familiar with entablatures, capitals, cornices and abacuses, etc.
Brian demonstrated a tremendous depth of knowledge of not just the subject, but also the history of the period, interspersing his delivery with the names of all the important and influential people. It was as much a history course as a course on architecture and this emphasises how society has influenced architecture through the ages.
Our tutor led an excellent field trip to London. We visited Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Royal Courts of Justice, St Clement Danes Church (RAF church), St Mary le Strand, the Savoy, Shell Mex House, the Adelphi offices, Somerset House and finally finished at the Duke of Buckingham’s York Watergate. These were all examples of the work of the architects and styles Brian had discussed during the course and reinforced our knowledge of the subject.
The course will enable us to appreciate the City’s many architectural styles and the changes which have occurred over the last half millennium.
David Marcus
Workers' Educational Association, Registered office: Third Floor, 70 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4HB.
Company Limited by Guarantee, registered in England and Wales Number 2806910, and Charity Registered in England and Wales number 1112775 and in Scotland Number SC039239.
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