about
About the modernist
the modernist is a Manchester-based independent publisher, specialist bookshop, gallery, and cultural organisation dedicated to twentieth-century architecture and design. Founded in 2009 as part of The Modernist Society — a not-for-profit Community Interest Company — it has grown into one of the UK's most distinctive voices celebrating modernist and post-war built culture, typography, graphics, and design history.
The Magazine
the modernist magazine has been published quarterly since 2011. It explores under-appreciated twentieth-century architecture and design across Britain and beyond — from bus shelters and brutalist estates to motorway service stations and municipal typography. It is edited for readers who are curious about the built environment and the designers who shaped it, and deliberately looks beyond the canonical narratives of Victorian grandeur towards the creative ambition of the post-war decades.
Stack Magazines described it as offering "unique perspectives on 20th-century architecture and design... warm and endearingly nerdy, this is an unconventional but nonetheless idyllic picture of Britain."
Annual subscriptions are available, and individual issues can be purchased online and in the shop.
‘Exploring under-appreciated 20th century architecture, design and what goes on behind the walls of buildings we may pass every day: these are some of the key aspects of the approach of The Modernist. Seeing beyond the oft-peddled narratives of ‘industrial greatness’ and Victorian imperialism, The Modernist considers recent history as a ripe time of culture, creativity and innovation – deserving recognition of its own. The Modernist looks into life behind the scenes of streets and skyscrapers, celebrating everything from market places and urban estates to motorways’ Emily Oldfield
The Shop and Gallery
The Modernist Gallery Shop opened in May 2019 at 58 Port Street, Manchester, M1 2EQ, in the Northern Quarter. It is the only bookshop in Manchester specialising in architecture and design, and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am–5pm.
The shop stocks books published by The Modernist alongside a curated selection of titles from other publishers, as well as prints, posters, stationery, homeware, clothing, and design objects with a modernist focus. The gallery and event space hosts regular exhibitions, talks, film screenings, and tours.
The Modernist's publishing arm was established alongside the magazine in 2011 and has since developed into a small independent press producing limited-edition books on twentieth-century British architecture, graphic design, typography, and urban culture. Titles include architectural city guides to Manchester and Sheffield, and books exploring subjects ranging from Modernist Architecture in Scotland and post war British graphic design to photographs of urban spaces and a mobile architectural tour app.
All current publications are available here.
The Modernist Society
The Modernist is a project of The Modernist Society, a not-for-profit Community Interest Company originally founded in 2009 as The Manchester Modernist Society. The Society promotes engagement with twentieth-century architecture and design through publishing, events, exhibitions, and community activity. Its regional Chapters organise tours, lectures, and gatherings in Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Huddersfield, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, and Swansea.
The Modernist Society is very grateful for the support it has received from the GMCA Foundational Economy Innovation Fund, Key Fund; the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund and from the Social Enterprise Academy through the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Quick Facts
- Founded: 2009 (The Modernist Society); magazine launched 2011
- Type: Not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC)
- Location: 58 Port Street, Manchester, M1 2EQ
- Opening hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–5pm
- Magazine frequency: three per year
- Specialisms: Twentieth-century architecture, modernist design, post-war graphics, typography, urban culture
- Regional chapters: Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Huddersfield, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, and Swansea
- Website: the-modernist.org
Many thanks also to HighRise Communications for their valued advice and support.
