Discover how London’s architecture has evolved over time, with this series of Saturday morning talks. People have been telling us that there are some aspects of London they want to learn more about, or to understand better. So the London Society are planning a series of informal Saturday Schools. The first of these is on ‘the evolution of London architecture’: five talks to help you gain a better appreciation of the history of London’s built environment. If you book for all five classes in the School you will pay for just four - so that's just £28 for members and £20 for student members. Non-members can book all five classes for £53 - which includes a year's individual membership of the Society. You can find out more here. London is not characterised by any particular architectural style, accumulating its buildings over a long period. This series of talks, starting May 13, will help you to explore some of these styles, to identify the periods to which they belong, learn how to read the codes and to understand the design pedigree of the buildings that surround us. There will also be a series of walks linked to the Saturday talks. We begin with a session looking at some of the key themes and characteristics to be found in London buildings of the medieval period, up to the Great Fire of 1666. Much of central London is Georgian, but can you tell late from early Georgian? Our next session looks in more detail at this elegant era. Following this, the School will investigate the very stylistically diverse architecture of Victorian London which experienced the sort of building boom we are familiar with today. Our fourth and fifth sessions will consider 20th Century and Contemporary London, such as the inter-war Art Deco suburban estates and the Brutalist sixties, much of which is fast disappearing in current redevelopment projects. Future Saturday Schools will cover other architectural aspects and eras, as well as the history of Planning in and for London. The sessions at the Saturday School are suitable for anyone with a love of London. The format is informal and no specialist knowledge is required. The speakers are chosen for their specialist knowledge and expertise in each era and the talks will be fully illustrated. There will be ample time for discussion and questions afterwards.

The Saturday Architecture School is run in association  with the Built Environment Trust