Architectural critic, Reyner Banham, once regarded Peter and Alison Smithson to be pioneers of their time, “the bellwethers of the young throughout the middle Fifties”. Recognised as one of Newcastle University’s finest graduates, the pair rose to professional acclaim with Hunstanton Secondary School shortly after the Second World War and went on to a career that shaped post-war architecture in Britain. It is likely that the landscape for the Smithson’s progressive work was informed by the seismic cultural shifts in Britain during this period. Today, we exist in similarly turbulent times.
National Portrait Gallery - Godfrey Argent: Alison and Peter Smithson
The hiatus provided by the pandemic has accelerated a global focus towards our generation’s greatest challenge – climate change. Having graduated from Newcastle in 2020, I have spent the immediate aftermath of Covid gaining an insight into the workings of architectural practice. I have found that while the industry is awakening to environmental issues, it’s not nearly moving fast enough.
To meet the Paris commitments, global emissions must hit net-zero between 2050 and 2070. The Economist recently reported that less than 1% of buildings are net zero and at our current rate it will take nearly a century to decarbonise the rest. There is enormous work to be done on regulating embodied carbon emissions, implementing carbon pricing structures and incentivising retrofit over demolition. But at its core, the greatest requirement today are new schools of thought. In the same way that the Smithsons, fresh out of university, led the charge towards a new architectural epoch, today, the profession once again urgently calls for a new strain of bellwethers.