| Status: | Active, full but can join waiting list |
| Group contact/facilitator: | |
| When: | Afternoons 2:00 PM-4:00 PM This self-study group meets every 6-8 weeks. The venue in Wadhurst may sometimes change due to room availability. |
| Venue: | Varies |
| Cost: | £2.00 for hire of room and refreshments |
Views from the evening Architecture Boat Tour along the Thames (July 2026).
We now have some architects and engineers in our group, but many of us are amateur enthusiasts who share a passion for and appreciation of modern architecture. No prior knowledge is required. We meet every 6-8 weeks but we aim to be flexible to fit around our members’ availability. We all have busy lives and full diaries.
As well as studying modern architecture and learning more about the architects behind some of the most iconic buildings of the 20th and 21st Century, we also like to visit some of the outstanding examples in and around London.
This is a self-study group and a slide show is usually produced for each meeting which collates all the information and pictures on the given topic, produced in advance by members (with the assistance, if required). Scroll down this page for info on past and future topics and dates. All members are expected to lead at least one session per year.
PLEASE NOTE: Participants must be current members of the Wadhurst & District u3a although everyone is welcome to attend a couple of 'taster sessions' before signing up.
If you would like to hear more about this group, please contact Jane Austin, using the email link at the top of this page.
****Please note this Group is now FULL
but we can add members to the Waiting List****
Current Programme:
| Tuesday, 20th October 2026 | New materials with the potential to revolutionize building design. This will be a Group session in which all members are invited to submit examples (a few pictures of their chosen building) for a slide show and discussion. SPARROWS GREEN PAVILION | |
| Monday, 23rd November 2026 | Furniture as a Agent of Architecture - a look at Eileen Grey's designs for E1027, a modernist villa overlooking the Mediterranean (Jane) The HUB | |
| Date to be confirmed | Residential home designs of different countries (ALL) | |
| - | ||
| TOURS AND OUTSIDE VISITS | ||
| 8th October 2026 | POSTPONED - Walking Tour of South London, West Dulwich to Forest Hill | |
| 26th Sept 2026 | Open City Central Thames Architecture Guided Tour by boat (afternoon) | |
| 17th July 2026 | Open City Central Thames Architecture Guided Tour by boat (evening) | |
| 23rd April 2026 | Crossness Pumping Station - Guided Tour of the Grade I Listed Building (fully booked) | |
| PAST MEETINGS AND EVENTS | ||
| Sept 2026 | PART II - Modern Buildings that developed problems! Jane, Colin, Tim | |
| July 2026 | PART I - Modern Buildings that developed problems! Nance, Richard, Kevin | |
| May 2026 | The Eden Project (Nicholas Grimshaw continued) - Jan Whiteley Landscape Architecture - Tim Ball | |
| Mar 2026 | Modern highlights from Open City Festival tours, including modern additions to older buildings (Nance & Colin) | |
| Jan 2026 | The Life & Work of Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (Maggie, Heather, Sheila & Jane) - Waterloo Station, Thermae Spa Bath, National Space Centre, Leicester and Other notable buildings | |
| Dec 2026 | (i) Hong Kong Airport (Kevin) and (ii) the Stirling Prize Shortlist and 2025 Winner (Jane) | |
| Oct 2025 | Utopia Postponed: Concrete before Modernism, 1860-1880 (David) | |
| Sept 2025 | VISIT: Architecture Boat Tour along the central Thames (Open City Tours) | |
| Sept 2025 | Villa Cavrois, Croix Near Lille, France (Tim) Fondation Louis Vuitton, Bois de Boulogne, Paris, France (Jane) | |
| July 2025 | VISIT: To see the listed buildings on the University of Sussex Falmer Campus (Sir Basil Spence/Anthony Blee) | |
| July 2025 | (a) Isokon Building, Lawn Road, London (Colin) (b) Introduction to the Architecture of University of Sussex at Falmer (Tim) | |
| May 2025 | BedZED - Zero energy residential development in South London (Sheila and Jane) | |
| April 2025 | (a) Infrastructure II : Paris (Graham) (b) Architects' Drawings (Tim) | |
| Feb 2025 | Infrastructure I : The Elizabeth Line (Jane and Heather) | |
| Other Study Topics include: | The work of Erich Mendelsohn; Oscar Niermeyer (Brasilia); Balkrishna Doshi (Chandigarh) and Frank Lloyd Wright (Usonian & Prairie Style); Zaha Hadid (London Olympic Aquatic Centre); Renzo Piano (The Shard, London); Richard Rogers (The "Cheese Grater"); and Shiregu Ban (Sustainable housing and emergency shelters in disaster zones). |
Future topics/visits for 2027
(Topics are selected based on members' survey)
- Walk from London Bridge, Shad Thames to Brunel Museum
- Visit to the Sky Garden to see London Skyline and 60min walk around Monument and the City of London Square Mile
- Guided Tour of the Barbican
- Thames Architecture Tour by Boat (Greenwich, Cutty Sark to Erith)
- Designing for Earthquake zones
- Modern Bridges (ALL) - Topic studied previously
- Hong Kong Airport Part II (Kevin) and Airports as modern cathedrals
- Monumental Modernism: Buildings from the soviet era (Jane)
- Why is good modern housing so difficult: Tower Blocks – Success or Failure?
- Brutalism – Monster or Masterpiece
- Buildings the public hated then loved
- Architecture in Films eg James Bond and Parasite
- Roofing Membranes
- The re-building of Napier in New Zealand after the earthquake
- How Government policy affects us on a local and national level
- Building design for Climate Change
- Maintenance costs and issues for modern buildings
- Museum Architecture
- City Transport Hubs - Topic studied previously
(Copies of slides from previous meetings are available on request from Jane, the Group Liaison)
