The Modern House Ltd, London
The Modern House is a unique estate agency dedicated to architect-designed property in both urban and rural locations across the UK.
We offer a sales and lettings service specialising in houses and apartments of outstanding design dating from the 1920s to the present day.
The Modern House was established in London in 2004 by architecture experts Albert Hill and Matt Gibberd.
Our Expertise
We have spent many years working with architect-designed properties across the UK, giving us an exceptional understanding of this specialist market. Our professionalism and proven sales record have earned us an unrivalled reputation in our field.
Our expertise allows us to offer market appraisals and advice that go beyond the limits of the local market.
Agents You Can Trust
The Modern House is a member of the Ombudsman Scheme for Estate Agents.
Specialist Marketing
The Modern House offers the most comprehensive listing of architect-designed property in the country, and our website is visited by tens of thousands of people every month. Our properties are regularly featured in the national newspapers, as well as in specialist design and architecture publications in the UK and internationally.
The “Local” Market
We have got the “local” market covered too. The internet is where the vast majority of property searches now start, and our properties are showcased not only on our own website but also on the major online portals, including Rightmove.
Attention To Detail
Our comprehensive sales particulars include high-quality photographs by specialist photographers and carefully researched information that explains the merits of the property and its design. We strongly believe that every property we represent should get the extensive coverage it deserves, giving potential buyers and tenants access to all the information they require.
Viewing Days
The Modern House will often hold a “viewing day” at a property, whereby viewings are grouped together on a specific day. Unlike the “open days” organised by some other agents, these are strictly by appointment only, with viewings spread as far apart as possible across a three-hour period. Viewing days minimize disruption for vendors, and give potential buyers the chance to look around in more informal circumstances.
The People Behind The Modern House
The Modern House was formed in 2004 by architecture experts Albert Hill and Matt Gibberd.
Prior to establishing The Modern House, Albert Hill was a writer covering architecture, design and property for publications such as Wallpaper*, The Guardian and The Times. Albert has also contributed to a number of books and has spoken on the subjects of architecture and design on both television and radio.
Matt Gibberd has also enjoyed a distinguished career as a journalist – writing on architecture and design for magazines including The World of Interiors, the RIBA Journal and GQ Style – and continues to contribute to a variety of publications. Matt is the grandson of the celebrated Modern Movement architect Sir Frederick Gibberd.
The Architects
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; Ernö 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.
It was also during this period that Connell, Ward & Lucas designed some particularly fine one-off houses and Patrick Gwynne designed his own radical home, The Homewood (now owned by the National Trust). Lubetkin and the Tecton Group produced perhaps the most celebrated Modernist building of the 1930s, Highpoint in north London. Wells Coates, Maxwell Fry and Frederick Gibberd all established their reputations with the design of seminal apartment blocks.
A new generation of architects continued to fly the flag for Modernism after the Second World War. Eric Lyons and Geoffrey Townsend were the inspiration behind the forward-thinking development company Span, which built 30 housing estates between 1948 and 1984, all combining affordability with good design and uplifting landscaping. Other large-scale projects included Powell & Moya’s Churchill Gardens Estate, Denys Lasdun’s Keeling House, and the Golden Lane Estate by Chamberlin, Powell & Bon. The latter went on to design the Barbican Estate.
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 original buildings. Designs by architects like Peter Foggo and David Thomas were heavily influenced by the Case Study houses of California. This was the decade in which Norman Foster and Richard Rogers (as part of Team 4) began their architectural careers by designing houses for friends and family. Their style would later be referred to as High Tech. The ‘60s are also remembered for the impact of high-rise housing developments, with “cities in the sky” designed by the likes of Ernö Goldfinger and Alison & Peter Smithson.
During the 1970s and ‘80s, 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, Michael Hopkins, Edward Cullinan and James Stirling all made their names. Michael Manser designed some of Britain’s finest country houses, displaying the Modernist style in its purest form, and Patrick Hodgkinson produced the now-revitalised Brunswick Centre.
The 1990s proved a particularly fruitful period, with Future Systems, Hudson Featherstone, John Pawson and Claudio Silvestrin 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. The pioneering domestic work of architects like Tony Fretton, David Adjaye, Sergison Bates, Buschow Henley and Caruso St. John has ensured that Britain's architectural heritage is safe for future generations.
We offer both sales and lettings. For full details of all of our properties, visit www.themodernhouse.net
Local Map
Contact details
1 Baldwin Terrace London N1 7RU
