Peter Smithson

When Peter Smithson died in March 2003, architecture lost one of its most inspired practitioners, incisive theorists, and charismatic teachers. Along with his late wife and partner, Alison, Smithson emerged in the postwar era as Britain's preeminent advocate of architectural modernism. The Smithson's achieved cult-figure status in the architectural world, particularly among students who admired the power of their ideas and work. But with no built projects in the U.S., they remained something of an enigma there. Now, as part of our Conversations with Students series, Smithson's ideas will be made widely accessible in a handy and inexpensive format for the first time.