De La Warr Pavilion x the modernist - Being Modern : London 16/9/26
Conceived by a visionary Earl and designed by pioneering architects Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff and structural engineer Felix Samuely, the iconic Grade 1 listed De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill was inspired by modernist, civic and social ideals.
Opened in 1935, it was the blueprint for the modern art centre in Britain and, as a leading multi-arts centre, remains a symbol of creativity and social vision to this day.
Join the De La Warr Pavilion x the modernist for Being Modern : London, an event at the offices of architects Haworth Tompkins, exploring architecture as an enabler of cultural and social change.
Learn from author and freelance writer Owen Hatherley how the design ethos of Bexhill’s ‘People’s Palace’ inspired post war initiatives including the Festival of Britain and the Southbank Centre in his talk: "Importing and Adapting the European Modern Movement in Britain, from Stuttgart to East Sussex to SE1."
Hear from Lucy Picado, Director, Haworth Tompkins, about the practice’s contribution to the ongoing evolution of the Southbank Centre and their project to restore and reimagine the De La Warr Pavilion for its communities and the next century.
Owen works as a freelance writer, most often for Architectural Review, Jacobin, the London Review of Books, Sidecar and Tribune. He is the author of seventeen books on aesthetics and politics, including Militant Modernism (Zer0, 2009), A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain (Verso, 2010), Landscapes of Communism (Penguin, 2015), Red Metropolis (Repeater, 2020) and Modern Buildings in Britain – a Gazetteer (Penguin, 2022). Recent books include Transitional Objects (the modernist, 2023), an annotated photobook about Poland in the 2010s, and The Alienation Effect (Penguin, 2025), a history of Central European artists and intellectuals in Britain and their influence on public life between the 1930s and 1970s.
Lucy Picardo is a Director at Haworth Tompkins with over 20 years’ experience designing and delivering buildings within the cultural and performing arts sectors. She has a deep understanding of working with Listed and heritage buildings in often complex and conservation area settings. Her portfolio includes some of the most lauded theatre buildings in the UK, including the Old Vic,Theatre Clywd in North Wales, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, National Theatre and the Chichester Festival Theatre, for which she was awarded the RIBA Project Architect of the Year. Current projects include the redevelopment of the De La Warr Pavilion and the refurbishment of the Royal Festival Hall. In 2025 she joined the New London Architecture (NLA) Expert Panel for Culture to investigate how the rich and unique culture and character of the capital can be maintained, celebrated and enhanced.