Lectures: Current

Lecture Series

BALT / C20 Society

2023 Webinar Lecture Series

From Portland Stone to Reinforced Concrete: British Architecture 1900-1940 in four lectures

January – April 2023

Following the successful Palladio webinar series, the BALT’s 2023 webinar series will feature discussions surrounding British Architecture in the early 20th century, with special attention paid to the interwar years.
The lectures begin with an introduction to the Late Edwardian Period – a foundational period that predates the emergence of modernism in Britain – by Alex Bremner, professor of Architectural History at the University of Edinburgh. The series continues with presentations of two iconic architects of the time, Giles Gilbert Scott and Charles Holden, by Oxford professor David Lewis and art historian Elain Harwood respectively. The series will conclude with an exploration of the modernist movement by Alan Powers, a leading historian of the twentieth century British architecture, art, and design.

The British Architectural Library Trust (BALT) is an independent American non-profit organization founded in 2013 in support of the Library and Collections of the Royal Institute of British Architects (the RIBA), the foremost architectural library in the world.

The Twentieth Century Society is the national charity for the protection of Britain’s modern architecture and design heritage.
For over 40 years, they have campaigned to save countless outstanding buildings, while advancing the study and appreciation of C20 architecture.
For more information and to support their vital work, visit c20society.org.uk

Thursday, January 26th, 2023

9 AM PST/12 PM EST/5 PM GMT

Part 1 – The Edwardian Period and the Grand Manner Tradition

Speaker: Alex Bremner, Professor, University of Edinburgh

Interlocutor: Alan Powers, former chair, C20 Society

Thursday, February 23rd, 2023

9 AM PST/12 PM EST/5 PM GMT

Part 2 – Giles Gilbert Scott and the Definition of Modernity Between the Wars

Speaker: David Frazer Lewis, Professor and Architectural Historian, University of Oxford

Interlocutor: Alan Powers, former chair, C20 Society

Thursday, March 30th, 2023

9 AM PST/12 PM EST/5 PM GMT

Part 3 – Charles Holden, an Architect of Many Styles and Subtle Forms

Speaker: Elain Harwood, Architectural Historian

Interlocutor: David Frazer Lewis, Professor and Architectural Historian, University of Oxford

Thursday, April 27th, 2023

9 AM PST/12 PM EST/5 PM GMT

Part 4 – Modernism: Revolution or Reinvention?

Speaker: Alan Powers, former chair, C20 Society

Interlocutor: David Frazer Lewis, Professor and Architectural Historian, University of Oxford