LSA emeritus professor wins major prize for book on housing
A book co-authored by emeritus professor of architecture Mark Swenarton has been awarded the Architectural Book of the Year Award for Typology.
The Architectural Book of the Year Award is given annually by the Worshipful Company of Architects in association with the World Architecture Festival (WAF).
The book, Housing Atlas: Europe – 20th Century, was co-authored by an international team of four leading scholars: Orsina Simona Pierini from the Politecnico di Milano, Carmen Espegel from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Dick van Gameren from Delft University of Technology and Mark Swenarton from the University of Liverpool.
Housing Atlas: Europe – 20th Century documents a wide range of housing projects, both familiar and unfamiliar, presenting them in some 700 beautiful new drawings, together with project descriptions and interpretive essays.
The judges’ citation for Housing Atlas: Europe – 20th Century states:
‘An important book on architectural history, given its prescient selection of 87 projects from across Europe in the 20th century, and beautiful production (including specially drawn plans, sections and elevations to standard scales). It encourages proper understanding (not glossing over their faults) of some very sophisticated works of architecture (some less so), including their relationship to programme and place.’
The award ceremony took place on 10th December 2024 in Sir Christopher Wren’s Temple Bar, adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Funding to support the large-scale format publication was generously provided by the School of the Arts at the University of Liverpool as well as Delft University of Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Politecnico di Milano and the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. The book is published by leading architectural publisher Lund Humphries, who in 2017 produced Mark Swenarton’s last book, Cook’s Camden.
Mark Swenarton comments:
‘Liverpool School of Architecture has long been recognised for its research on the history of housing This reputation stretches back more than half a century to the pioneering work of John Tarn; developed through the works of Simon Pepper and Iain Jackson, as well as mine; and continues now into the future with the new Global Housing Design MSc. The award of this major prize for the Housing Atlas: Europe – 20th Century further consolidates the school’s standing as one of the leading centres in the world for the study of the architecture of housing.’
Housing Atlas: Europe – 20th Century has also been selected for the Architecture Foundation Book Week 2024.
For more information and to watch Mark Swenarton’s talk click here to visit the Architecture Foundation.