Every history of twentieth century architecture states that without concrete, modern architecture would not have happened. So why were architects throughout the twentieth century so determined to promote the modernity of concrete? And what have the consequences of this fixation been—for architecture, and for concrete? In this lecture, Adrian Forty questions the long-standing assumptions about the medium and argues that concrete is as much un-modern as it is modern.

Adrian Forty is professor of History of architecture at the Bartlett and the author of several works, including Concrete and Culture: A Material History (2012) and Objects Of Desire: Design And Society (1986).

Adrian Forty was a CCA Mellon Senior Fellow in 2013.