About the tour and guide

In the post-war period both municipal authorities and private developers built energetically and ambitiously various residential estates, health facilities, schools and cultural centres. They set out to rehabilitate ruined cities, but also to shape new ways of living in the future. Today, after just a few decades, these same residential neighbourhoods and public buildings look surprisingly old, reflecting either poor maintenance or the complete obsolescence of Modernist ideas and aesthetics. Standing as monuments to a bygone era, these projects give rise to a spectrum of sentiments, from nostalgic veneration to ignorant resentment. To find a middle ground between fetishisation and calls for demolition, this walk looks at the buildings built in 1960-70s, for different purposes (residential, health, education, mixed-use), by public and private sector, in the boroughs of Westminster and Camden, critically reflecting on the ideas they introduced and their relevance for the contemporary world.

Guide: Olga is an historian and Modernist movement aficionado who nurtures her passion for architecture by working at Sir John Soane’s Museum and exploring the built environment walking the streets.

About the Golden Key Academy

This tour is led by one of the alumni of Open City’s Golden Key Academy – a course training up insightful and engaging guides dedicated to explaining London and bringing its many stories to life.

It is part of a wider collection of tours created by Golden Key Academy guides for the Open House Festival celebrating their conclusion of the eight month course.

Further info on the Golden Key Academy can be found here https://open-city.org.uk/golden-key-academy

Tour meeting point:

Outside Wellington Hospital South Building
8A Wellington Place
NW8 9LE