A Popular Modernism? Timber Architecture in Britain 1936–39

Abstract Between 1936 and 1940, attention in British architectural media turned towards timber as a material for building in modern and traditional styles, stimulated by the Timber Trade Federation and its arm’s-length organisation, the Timber Development Association, and also by the desire of modern architects to try materials other than concrete. This paper describes the major events in this episode, the response of the press and the leading examples of timber buildings by leading modernists, including competition entries. It situates timber as a socially progressive material adopted by a younger generation with varied motives. This aspect of modernism was brought to an abrupt end by the shortages resulting from the Second World War, and never again achieved such prominence.