54 CONTEXT 177 : SEPTEMBER 2023 the application of listing criteria. These include the principles of selection for listing, where a new criterion regarding the functionality of Modern buildings and whether they fulfil the original brief was introduced by the government. This vital test of specialness for more recent buildings, something that would be ridiculous for older buildings, was instrumental in the refusal to list Pimlico School and Robin Hood Gardens, both buildings of exceptional interest that were lost as a result. He also highlights failures, such as the poor standards of maintenance that have been a major factor in the deterioration of their fabric. In addition, an analysis of the protection of Modern buildings that have been listed raises questions about how harm is measured where alterations are proposed, and whether the provisions in the National Planning Policy Framework and Historic England’s Conservation Principles are being applied in practice. Case studies such as the Commonwealth Institute, Park Hill, Sheffield and Balfron Tower, where extensive changes have been permitted, suggest that sometimes they are not. In the case of the latter, he also questions how the loss of public housing on such a scale could be condoned. Regarding listing, Allan observes that ministers’ reasons for their decisions have not always been transparent or based on statutory criteria. He refers (in a footnote) to a statement by Simon Thurley, the former chief executive of English Heritage, that ‘late-20th-century buildings are normally functionally inflexible’. Among professional weaknesses Allan highlights the lack of knowledge among planners and conservation officers of modern architectural heritage. Although the book is measured in tone and optimistic overall, it is in essence a call for action. Having identified the weaknesses in the system, Allan sets out a ‘new paradigm’ for the future. The aim is to revalue Modern buildings and make them useful. As elsewhere in the book, he uses case studies to demonstrate his points, and shows how reusing existing buildings can often be cheaper and faster than new build, more energy efficient, less socially disruptive and more environmentally friendly. It is the environmental argument that offers the most compelling reason for such revaluation, with the rapidly changing circumstances around climate change making the case for adaptation rather than demolition the norm, and the spirit of sustainability replacing that of functionalism. In conclusion, this is a book that should be read by all those involved in building conservation, both through the regulatory process and architectural practice. Populated with fine photographs of major projects, mostly carried out by the author, it demonstrates his view that ‘the enduring appeal of the Modern Movement, over and above its aesthetic attractions, was always its egalitarianism, its social commitment, its vast sense of possibility,… it is upon their widening recognition and celebration that its survival… will ultimately depend’. Peter de Figueiredo, reviews editor of Context A window on the Marches The Medieval Stained Glass of Herefordshire and Shropshire Robert Walker, Logaston Press, 2023, 286 pages, extensively illustrated mostly in colour, paperback, ISBN 978 1 910839 54 6, £25 The Logaston Press has an excellent catalogue of books on the history, art, architecture, culture and people of the Welsh Marches. Robert Walker’s comprehensive new book on its medieval glass is an addition of considerable value to architectural historians and glass aficionados, as well as the interested amateur. The history of stained glass in England is clouded with a series of significant problems: the rarity of medieval records, the sketchiness of early recording, 16th- and 17th-century iconoclasm, 18th-century neglect and 19th-century restorations with lost or inadequate records. Neither historic nor modern studies in the Marches have been comprehensive, a matter Walker’s book seeks to redress. The book is divided into The entrance to the now-demolished Pimlico School (Photo: Seier and Seier, Wikimedia)
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