The Importance of Recent Buildings

Heritage, and architectural and artistic interest in particular, does not need to be old. Richard Harwood and Clarissa Levi talk to Catherine Croft, the Director of the Twentieth Century Society, about some of the masterpieces of the last 40 years. Ranging from Southwark tube station on the Jubilee Line, Number One Poultry, to Dame Elisabeth Frink’s Desert Quartet and Peter Barber’s social housing, they ask how we assess and recognise recent architecture. They also ask: do architects like their work to be made listed buildings?The Twentieth Century Society is the National Amenity Society for post-1914 buildings. It’s Coming of Age campaign looks at buildings reaching 30 years old, which is the usual threshold for listing.