Modern Buildings Blackheath and Greenwich: the making of an architecture book
Blackheath based architect Ana Francisco Sutherland has authored a comprehensive new book on the history of modern buildings in her area. Beedier talks to her about the project and the logistical and expectational steps required to see a project like this to fruition
As architects and designers, we all have areas of specialist knowledge and expertise, and perhaps a driving desire to research the hell out of a niche area of architectural interest. And in our minds eye, we imagine the fruits of our labour presented as a beautiful book in libraries and bookshops, or scattered strategically across the reception areas and meeting tables of design studios. But what does it take to get an architectural book made and published?
Ana Francisco Sutherland has recently gone through this process, successfully traversing the obstacles in her path to see the publication of a thoroughly researched, and beautifully presented new book. It takes an in depth look at modernist houses, and other buildings in Blackheath and Greenwich, and the architects that designed them. After an engaging forward by architectural historian and author Neil Bingham, who also acted as an unofficial mentor for the project, and extremely informative introduction co-authored with Heidi Seetzen – we are treated to a sequential list of architects, really the great and the good of British modernist architecture, the known and the lesser known – and the wonderful projects that they worked on in this small, but culturally productive area of South London.
We had an in depth discussion with Ana, in an attempt to understand the process from start to finish.
Beedier: This book project really seems to have been instigated as a natural extension of your architectural practice – what was the nature of the first client projects that kicked off the research?
Ana: One of the first commissions I got in 2016 was for a full refurbishment of one of North Several’s houses (Royston Summers, 1968). Then came work to various Blackheath Span houses and flats, some listed, some not, as well as a second North Several project. Whilst researching the original designs, in order to inform the refurbishments approach, I gathered plenty of articles, interviews, drawings and photos. It was clear then that the relationships between the modern architects working locally in the post-war decades was worth exploring further. Except for books on Span, Eric Lyons and other monographs, there was not a comprehensive record of the area’s modernist buildings.
Beedier: We imagine that the next stage of the project – to map the location of all the modernist buildings of quality in your area – may also have been a useful marketing exercise for your own architecture business, to find future clients?
Ana: That was never an aim but a happy secondary outcome. I was more interested in the act of research itself, which is a very pleasant counterpoint to the highly stressful job of running an architectural practice. Whilst I knew, of course, that it was a good local networking activity and the fact that I also ended up with a handful of new clients and projects after interviewing the residents – that was a pleasant surprise.
Beedier: But then came the book concept. There are so many barriers to success for a project such as this, that must be overcome, the first being access to the properties and permissions from their current owners. Was this a difficult, but ultimately rewarding process?
Ana: Some buildings, not many, are public, most are private houses or housing schemes. There was only one person who requested their home not to be featured, otherwise it was fairly straightforward. It was rewarding to see how some of the residents were first reticent and ended up extremely proud and happy for their home to be featured; to see it as part of a bigger historical phenomenon and as part of an architect’s body of work that deserves to be recorded.
Beedier: The book looks beautifully composed, so we are sure that you had a proactive graphic designer involved with the project too – how did you find them, and was the collaborative working relationship easy at the later stages of production?
Ana: The founders of Studio Blackburn, the graphic designer for the book, are local and we share the same love for the area, the culture and the buildings. They did most of the work pro-bono so it was imperative the team had fun with the book design. We had two intense years of design development, fundraising and production. The collaboration was great. In the end, they hired a Portuguese designer Rita Peres Pereira, who for about six weeks was able to focus on the final artwork, specification for the printers and production. Paul Blackburn even managed to squeeze in a trip to Lugano, Italy to sign-off the prints. We had some intense texts and calls to sign off the cover and binding details. Having not done anything like this before, I wasn’t aware that the production stage was so involved but by then we knew we were looking at a high quality product that deserved all the effort
Beedier: At what point did the publisher come on board, and was it a difficult pitch? Did you also consider the self-publication route, or Kickstarter?
Ana: The publisher came on board fairly late in the process, in August 2022. I first saw the book as a self-publishing project, but knew the lack of distributors would be a major negative point. With Studio Blackburn, we worked quite a lot on setting up a Kickstarter campaign, but we were not looking forward to the admin, fulfilment and posting. Studio Blackburn took the initiative to approach a few publishers we admire – we had nothing to lose. They had a project in Zurich and visited Park Books; we set up a zoom call and that was it. The themes of Modernism, London, the quality of the images, drawings and layout was enough the make Park Books excited about the book – there was no formal pitch. We then collaborated on a few design changes, specification and sourcing printers.
Beedier: Photography is also an important aspect of any new architectural publication – copyright acquisition is not always easy or cheap. What was your approach to acquiring historic, and newly commissioned photographs of the buildings?
Ana: The first set of photos were mine, but Studio Blackburn soon pointed out this was not good enough! I talked with a couple of photographers I work with and then approached Pierce Scourfield on Instagram. I was really impressed by Pierce’s work and his approach to the whole project which was to take the photos either at dawn or dust. We set on a fee per image and then a really extended programme of shooting, as he could only do a few in a day. Pierce is based in North London, so he ended up spending a week in a neighbours’ place (featured in the book) to make it more efficient and avoid traveling.
Some of the houses were demolished, so there was no option but to resort to archive photography. We researched the RIBA archives and selected key images to complement Pierce’s, as well as some great portraits held by the RIBA. A few additional archives and photographers were contacted directly. That was quite a big expense and I raised funds specially for the copyrights, but was lucky to then complement this set with more black and white archive images donated by residents, architects and their families.
Beedier: There is also a great selection of architectural drawings in the book presented in a consistent style – from Beedier’s own past experience, this can be a real undertaking. Did you do this work yourself, or did you have help?
Ana: The drawings were first drawn by myself and those who work with me – when there was downtime they would create a few plans, elevations and site plans based on published drawings, or planning records. In March 2023, my husband, Ian Sutherland joined the practice and took on the task of making all these – 64 buildings – graphically consistent. That did not take three weeks like we first thought! Ian is an exceptional draughtsman and the final drawings were elevated immensely by his work.
Beedier: And of course, your own role of author requires support in the form of proof-reading, editing and indexing. Was this a convoluted process?
Ana: I had major support and mentoring from Neil Bingham (architectural historian, curator, tutor, author) since 2019 in relation to the actual contents. I also worked with a friend and sociology lecturer Heidi Seetzen, in relation to the social and planning context. Then Fraser Southey joined in on the labour of love and was instrumental on tone, flow and extent; he lives locally and is a professional editor. Working with about 48,500 words and over 400 pages, the editing task was truly overwhelming, so we decided to do this in three parts to make it manageable: introduction, biographies and buildings. Last but not least, Ian who made sure any text leaving the house was proper English to start with. My father also did a major round of proofreading – he is Portuguese, but worked in English most of his life. Then there was a paid final proof-reader and an indexer.
Beedier: Expectation management must be a key factor in any project like this – something that starts as an enthusiastic, but amorphous idea – but then evolves and gathers steam, with other people involved. Was this a tricky balancing act?
Ana: Expectation management, both my own and others was hard work, especially towards the end as the launch date to suit Park Books’ Spring 2024 catalogue loomed. During the process and with so many people working on it pro-bono, it was about finding the balance between respect, enjoyment and keeping the momentum going. Also, all the costs were fundraised, so there were sponsors and donors, both individuals and institutions that were waiting eagerly for an actual product to be delivered for a good couple of years.
Beedier: And lastly – the big question. Will you make any money from the book? Or are you just happy that it has given you a rewarding intellectual journey, and the respect of your peers?
Ana: This was never about money. It’s well known that this type of book – with high quality colour photography, high-spec cover, paper and binding – doesn’t usually make money for the authors. The money from the sales goes to the bookshops, distributors, agents and publishers, and there is not much left once printing and distribution costs are covered. I was given enough copies to make sure sponsors and donors were provided with books, in a reward model similar to Kickstarter.
Ana Francisco Sutherland studied architecture in Lisbon, Portugal and graduated in 2001. She founded Francisco Sutherland Architects in 2015 after 12 years at Allies and Morrison Architects, having previously worked at Kees Christiaanse Architects and Planners in Rotterdam, Holland.