Before a New Architecture: Frederick Etchells and the Emergence of Architectural Modernity in Britain, from W.R. Lethaby to Le Corbusier

This article addresses the ways in which the writings of Le Corbusier interacted with modernist architectural thought in Britain. It focusses on Frederick Etchells, who translated Vers une architecture in 1927, and analyses key influences upon his intellectual development and approach to design, nam...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inModernist cultures Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 74
Main Author Ketteringham, Sean
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press 01.02.2022
Subjects
Architecture
Intellectual development
Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret) (1887-1965)
Modernism
Modernity
United Kingdom > UK
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Summary:This article addresses the ways in which the writings of Le Corbusier interacted with modernist architectural thought in Britain. It focusses on Frederick Etchells, who translated Vers une architecture in 1927, and analyses key influences upon his intellectual development and approach to design, namely Roger Fry, Wyndham Lewis, W.R. Lethaby, Christopher Hussey, and John Rodker. It suggests that dedicated study of Etchells as a connective figure in this network aids our understanding of modernism's fraught integration into British culture; that architectural ideas are central to vorticism's engagement with the artist's relationship to society; and that Fry and Lewis deserve recognition for establishing a mature conception of architectural modernity in Britain, alongside Le Corbusier.
ISSN:2041-1022
1753-8629
DOI:10.3366/mod.2022.0360