Who we are
The Modern House is an estate agency specialising in the sale of 20th and 21st century homes of architectural distinction. We deal exclusively with outstanding houses and apartments dating from the 1920s the formative years of the Modern Movement in Britain to the present day. We work across the UK, but have our main office in central London (please note that this is not open to the public).
Expertise
The Modern House's
expertise in modern and contemporary architect-designed
houses makes us a unique estate agency. Our exceptional
understanding of 20th and 21st century buildings
both historically and structurally allows us to
better meet the requirements of both buyers and sellers.
The people behind The Modern House
The Modern House was founded by Albert Hill and Matt Gibberd. Albert and Matt previously enjoyed distinguished careers in architecture, design and property journalism, working for publications including Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors, The Guardian and The Times. Having encountered numerous owners of properties of architectural distinction who were frustrated by the service being offered to them by non-specialist estate agencies (and also encountering many potential purchasers of properties of this type), Albert and Matt decided to set up The Modern House to fill a gap in the market. Expertise in architecture, design and property runs in the family for both Albert and Matt (who is the grandson of the Modern architect Frederick Gibberd). The Modern House works with an advisory panel that includes Adam Benson (property consultant), Ciara Conduct (researcher), Tom Dyckhoff (architecture critic of The Times), Geoffrey Gibberd (architect and surveyor), and Will Nassau-Lake (property lawyer).
The Architects
Great Britain has a rich history of Modern architecture. In the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s it was home to many talented avant-garde architects, a significant number of whom were fleeing the turbulent political situations of their home nations. Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, two of the most important figures of the groundbreaking Bauhaus school in Germany, settled in London in 1935, while Ernφ Goldfinger arrived from Hungary and Berthold Lubetkin and Serge Chermayeff emigrated from Russia. Many of these architects went on to establish notable careers in Britain, building numerous houses and apartment blocks that still stand to this day.
With such strong foundations laid, a new generation of architects continued to fly the flag for Modernism throughout the 1940s and 50s. Acclaimed architects of this period include Eric Lyons (who worked with Span, the forward-thinking property developers), Powell & Moya and Basil Spence. It is around this time that we also begin to see the influence of the Californian style of Modern architecture filtering through.
By the 1960s the Modern style of house a style that emphasised light, space and the integration of architecture into the natural surroundings became popular on a far broader scale, with such prominent figures as the footballer George Best commissioning Modern housing designs. Acclaimed British architects from this era include Patrick Gwynne, Peter Womersley and Fredrick Gibberd, who between them worked on numerous residential properties from Huddersfield to Henley-on-Thames.
The 1960s was also the decade in which Norman Foster and Richard Rogers first began their architectural careers by designing houses for friends and family. This was the beginning of a style that would later be referred to as High Tech.
Throughout the latter decades of the 20th century, Britain's reputation as an important centre of cutting-edge architecture remained undimmed. This was a time when Postmodernism came and went, and architects such as Nicholas Grimshaw, Terry Farrell and James Stirling all made their names.
The 1990s proved a particularly fruitful period, with Future Systems, Hudson Featherstone and John Pawson all working on internationally acclaimed residential projects. By the turn of the 21st century, Britain could boast of being the home of some of the world's most important architects notably the Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid.
Also gaining a great deal of attention during the early years of the 21st century has been the domestic work of architects like Tony Fretton, David Adjaye and Caruso St. John. Britain's rich architectural history, it seems, looks set to continue.
|
