Howell Killick Partridge and Amis

The Roehampton Lane (Alton West) estate is widely
acclaimed as one of the seminal works of the Modern Movement in Britain. Less
well known is the identity of its designers, four ambitious young architects in
the employ of the London County Council: Bill Howell, John Killick, John
Partridge and Stan Amis. Launched into practice with a maverick design for
Churchill College, Cambridge, their output ranged from additions to Oxford and
Cambridge colleges to theatres, houses and government buildings.Deriving a distinctive design language from
revealed structure and highly modelled surfaces, HKPA developed a rich,
allusive and extrovert architecture. Although a mastery of pre-cast concrete
and a preference for raw finishes earned them an early reputation as Brutalists,
their sensitivity to context, refined sense of light and materials and eye for
the qualities of historic buildings transcends any single style.
Geraint Franklin has combined interviews with
archival research to tell the story of the individuals, collaborations and
aspirations behind the built and unrealised projects. Lavishly illustrated with
new photography by James O. Davies and images from the practice archive, this
book is a must for architects, students and enthusiasts wanting to discover this
key practice in British post-war architecture.