The Society was saddened to learn of the recent death of Peter Ahrends (1933-2026) aged 93, the last surviving member of celebrated Modernist practice Ahrends Burton and Koralek (ABK). Ahrends was born in Berlin in April 1933 and fled Nazi Germany to South Africa with his family before the start of the Second World War. He moved to London at the age of 18 to study at the Architectural Association, and before the age of 30 had founded what would become ABK with his AA peers, Richard Burton and Paul Koralek. The highly influential practice gained their breakthrough with a competition win for the Berkeley Library at Trinity College Dublin (1967), and went on to secure numerous high-profile commissions over a five decade career. They demonstrated a thoughtfulness and versatility that spanned Oxford colleges, public libraries, housing, retail, hospitals and industrial structures. Yet it was the notorious 'carbuncle' speech by the then Prince Charles and the controversy around their original, unbuilt design for the National Gallery extension that unfairly derailed the practice. Speculation persists as to what they might have achieved without that intervention. Five of ABK's buildings are currently nationally listed: 📍Gillett House, Chichester Theological College, West Sussex (1966) - Grade II 📍Eastfield Primary School, Leicester (1968) - Grade II 📍De Breyne and Hayward Buildings at Keble College, Oxford (1973-1977) - Grade II* 📍College of Management Studies at Templeton College, Oxfordshire (1969 / 1974) - Grade II 📍Maidenhead Library, Berkshire (1973) - Grade II In 2011 the practice’s Redcar Library (1971) was controversially flattened, despite calls from The Twentieth Century Society for it to be saved. Their housing in Basildon (1979), workshop at Hooke Park with Frei Otto (1990), St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight (1990) and the John Lewis Department Store in Kingston on Thames (1991) are amongst their further projects which deserve protection, but the latter was disappointingly given a Certificate of Immunity from Listing last year and looks set to be largely demolished.

NEWS: As demolition works commence this week on the Abbey Walk Car Park in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, C20 has backed renewed calls to save 40 auto-inspired sculptural concrete panels by artist Harold Gosney (1937-). Abbey Walk was designed by architects Nicholson & Rushton and built in 1969 by Holst & Company of Scunthorpe at a cost of approximately £200,000. The concrete panels are structural pillars, cast in situ and featuring a repeated series of 4 abstract designs – some flipped 180 degrees. In an interview with the BBC, Gosney explained the inspiration for these: “The four designs I produced were inspired by drawings in the handbook of the car that I had at the time, which was an Austin Cambridge estate car, and included suspension, carburettor, etc.” The car park closed in May 2024 after structural defects were found due to water ingress, with the Council opting to demolish the structure at a cost of £750,000. In March last year, a conservation team from Lincoln university used 3D technology to scan the artworks and created a digital model so they can be reprinted in the future. However, local campaigner Angela Greenfield from Grimsby, Cleethorpes and District Civic Society has said: "We're still hoping some of the sculptures will be saved. 3D scans don't cut it. They're a scan, not the piece of art"

🍃 We need your help! There are just a few days left to object to the removal of @thegardenstrust as a statutory consultee. The Government has launched a public consultation on its controversial proposal to remove the Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee in the planning process. C20 Society has joined with our fellow Amenity Societies to strongly oppose this; their expert advice and guidance is vital in protecting the UK’s world-famous historic parks, gardens and landscapes. We’re now asking our followers and supporters to respond individually too. The quickest and most effective method is to simply answer question 6 of the consultation form by ticking “oppose”, and leaving the rest blank. ✍️🏼Click the link below to register your opposition before the deadline of Tuesday 13th January 2026: gov.uk/government/consultati…

👑 A slice of 20th century London design heritage is making an unexpected comeback. In a story first reported by @ianvisits, the historic GLC coat of arms will soon become the emblem of the Greater London Authority (GLA), as the body celebrates its 25th birthday. When the London County Council (LCC), founded 1889, was replaced by the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1965, it was granted a coat of arms which contained elements taken from the arms of its predecessor bodies: blue waves from the arms of LCC and a Saxon crown taken from the arms of Middlesex County Council. The GLC was abolished by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1986 and Greater London remained without a strategic local government body until the GLA was created in 2000. For the next 25 years, they used a succession of mostly forgettable logos and brand identities. After an application to the College of Arms, which manages matters of heraldry in England and Wales under powers delegated to it by the Crown, the King has commanded that the GLA shall be allowed to use the coat of arms that once belonged to its predecessor, the GLC. Bring on the merch! What next? After the cynical destruction of Foster + Partners’ City Hall in Southwark (2000) - the purpose-built home of the GLA, how about a return to the spiritual home of London’s democracy, County Hall in Lambeth (1911-39)?

📍 Techniquest, Cardiff - ABK Architects c20society.org.uk/coming-of-…

📍 Photographer’s Hide, Northamptonshire - Níall McLaughlin Architects c20society.org.uk/coming-of-…

🎈Now That’s What I Call Architecture, 1995! Announcing Coming of Age 2025: C20’s end of year ‘honours list’ celebrating the best of British architecture that’s turned 30 years old and is now eligible for national listing consideration. 🧵See the full list below and read more about each individual building on our website: c20society.org.uk/coming-of-… We hope the next stop for these 10 outstanding buildings will be richly deserved recognition and a place on the National Heritage List.