I'd be very grateful if you could disseminate information on our forthcoming study day, Choosing the Chintz, to design history members: STUDY DAY: HIGH-RISE LIVING Saturday 20 June 2009, 10.00am - 4.15pm Love them or hate them, high-rise homes have provided important, yet at times controversial, living spaces in urban centres for over half a century. Once seen as an idealistic and triumphant type of modern social living, their reputation has suffered as an often blighted and inhumane housing form. This study day, inspired by the Geffrye Museum’s special exhibition, Ethelburga Tower: at home in a high rise - photographs by Mark Cowper, provides an opportunity to reflect on and explore the issues surrounding high-rise living. Lectures will include: Villages in the sky: the ideal of high-rise living Professor Stefan Muthesius, academic, writer and co-author of Tower Block: Modern Public Housing in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Fallen angels: the demonization of the tower block Dr Alan Powers, historian, author and chairman of the 20th Century Society Personal reflections on life in the Ethelburga Tower - Mark Cowper, photographer The tower block re-assessed: the revival of interest in high-rise living Catherine Croft, director, 20th Century Society Change and revival: the Brunswick Centre in focus Stuart Tappin, structural engineer and chairman of the Brunswick Centre Residents Association Green roofs and gardens in the sky: a new way forward Speaker to be confirmed. Tickets £35 in advance including coffee and light lunch Bookings: Please contact the Bookings Officer on 020 7739 9893 or [log in to unmask] Many thanks and best wishes. Nancy Loader Pr and Press Officer Geffrye Museum 136 Kingsland Road London E2 8EA 020 7739 9893 [log in to unmask] www.geffrye-museum.org.uk The Geffrye Museum explores the home from around 1600 to the present day, focusing on the living rooms of the urban middle classes in England, particularly London. A sequence of period rooms illustrate how such homes have been used and furnished, reflecting changes in society and patterns of behaviour, as well as style, fashion and taste. These displays are enhanced by a series of period gardens which highlight the changing role of gardens in relation to domestic life (open Apr-Oct). ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email ______________________________________________________________________