The Creeping Plague of Ghastly Facadism
![](https://www.spab.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/header_image_1280x300/adaptive-image/public/SPAB_members_lecture__facadism_gentle_author_0.jpg?itok=SmsLh40J)
The Creeping Plague of Ghastly Facadism - lecture from the Gentle Author
A lecture from Spitalfields Life editor, the Gentle Author
£10 members / £11 non-members
Price includes a glass of wine / soft drink and nibbles
Event details
18.15 - 20.30, 30 January 2019
The SPAB's approach to old buildings has always been to retain as much of the existing fabric as is practicable. As our founder, William Morris, wrote "'If asked what side of them, what part of them, we want to preserve, we must say our only possibility of preserving them at all is to preserve them whole." So the practice of facadism - destroying an old building apart from the front wall and constructing a new building behind it - is something we have long been opposed to.
We are pleased to be welcoming the Gentle Author, editor of the Spitalfields Life blog, for a light-hearted lecture celebrating the publication of his newest book, which aims to reveal why facadism is happening and what it means. As this bizarre architectural fad has spread across the capital, he has photographed the most notorious examples, collecting an astonishing gallery of images guaranteed to inspire both laughter and horror in equal measure.
Join us after the lecture for an informal reception with drinks and nibbles. The Gentle Author will be on hand to sign copies of the book.
Image credit: the Gentle Author
Accessibility: please contact the SPAB before booking to discuss any special access requirements.