Architecture
A clear vision of Walter Gropius the man is hard to come by
Walter Gropius was a great architect and a public figure of awe-inspiring efficiency. But what was he like in private, wonders Philip Hensher
Here's what I want from modern architecture, explains housing tsar Roger Scruton
Architecture needs to stop aiming for the ‘iconic’ and focus on everyday beauty, says Roger Scruton, the new housing tsar
Not as good as his immoral brother Eric but still wonderful: Max Gill at Ditchling reviewed
MacDonald ‘Max’ Gill (1884–1947) is less well known than his notorious brother, Eric. But was he less of a designer,…
![Twiggy photographed by Justin de Villeneuve in the Rainbow Room at Big Biba, early 1970s. [JUSTIN DE VILLENEUVE]](https://spectator.imgix.net/content/uploads/2018/12/USE-JDV_TW046.jpg?auto=compress,enhance,format&crop=faces,entropy,edges&fit=crop&w=410&h=275)
A short history of art deco – from high art to two-tone shoes, garden gates to Twiggy
Peter York traces the history of art deco – from high art to two-tone shoes, and beyond
After 70 years, has the Prince of Wales learnt nothing about the monarch’s role?
Republicans hate to admit it, but the stability brought by the long reign of that most careful of monarchs Elizabeth…
The Statue of Liberty is a deeply sinister icon
Immigrants to the United States in the late 19th century discovered in Upper New York Bay, after a long, uncomfortable…
Strawberry Hill revived
Michael Snodin celebrates the splendours of Strawberry Hill revived
Is modernist architecture not good for our health?
Are our buildings killing us? Stephen Bayley reports
The Pompidou Centre, Paris’s great blemish
The hideous Pompidou Centre bothers me every time I see it
Modernist architecture only worked for the wealthy
It was Le Corbusier who famously wrote that ‘A house is a machine for living in’ (‘Une maison est une…
The problem with British mosques
Britain is crying out for mosques that reflect the reality of the modern West, says Ed Husain
How lucky we are to have the Royal Academy
What is the Royal Academy? This question set me thinking as I wandered through the crowds that celebrated the opening…
The real stars of Kew's newly restored Temperate House
Kew’s newly restored Temperate House is undoubtedly awe-inspiring, says Isabel Hardman, but it’s the plants that are the real stars of the show
The public are quite right to love Monet
Think of the work of Claude Monet and water lilies come to mind, so do reflections in rippling rivers, and…
From Stansted to corporate swank: superstructuralism has a lot to answer for
Foster and Rogers wanted to save the planet – in fact, their high-tech architecture did the opposite, says Phineas Harper
Mission statement: the importance of a fine British embassy
At first blush this looks like one of those run-of-the-mill coffee-table books published just for the Christmas market — expensively…
A love letter to Turkey’s lost past
Patricia Daunt’s collection of essays is a fascinating exploration of some of Turkey’s most beautiful and evocative places, from the…
More secrets, symbols and awesome truths from Dan Brown
Being reflexively snotty about Dan Brown’s writing is like slagging off Donald Trump’s spelling: it just entrenches everyone’s position. In…
The architectural trads are back – we should celebrate
I’m sitting across a café table from a young man with a sheaf of drawings that have an archive look…
Cultural regeneration is a racket
Twenty years ago I wrote of the otherwise slaveringly praised Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao: I’m in a minority of, apparently,…
When it comes to politics, perception is more important than ‘truth’
I hate to tell you this, but every time you watch television you are being duped. In fact there are…
Art nouveau owes a lot to this dodgy German biologist and his dazzling illustrations
Over the winter of 1859–60, a handsome young man could be seen patrolling the shores of the Gulf of Messina…
Capital dramas on and off the stage
Theatre buildings are seriously interesting – as I ought to have appreciated sooner in the course of 25 years writing…
The newly refurbished Natural History Museum is glorious
Sometimes, it pays to rediscover what’s already under your nose. I’ve been umpteen times to the Natural History Museum but…
The Shard: a vast, unnecessary financial speculation
The Shard is an unnecessary building. Nobody apart from its developer asked for it to be built. Nobody was crying…
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