Beaufort Society
Spring Meeting 2026

The President of the Beaufort Society, the Rt Hon Sir Richard Aikens, is pleased to invite members to this year’s Spring Meeting on Thursday 16 April at The Carpenters’ Company in the City of London.

Join us for an engaging evening at the historic Carpenters’ Hall, where Dr Sofia Nivarti, University Assistant Professor of Architecture, Director of Studies in Architecture at St John’s, and a Fellow of the College, will explore the fascinating theme ‘When Modernism Grows Old’.

Guests will be welcomed with a glass of fizz on arrival before Dr Nivarti’s talk begins. The evening will then continue with the opportunity to mingle with fellow members and their guests whilst enjoying drinks and canapés.

Programme

6pm: Prosecco on arrival

6.30pm: Welcome from the Rt Hon Sir Richard Aikens, President of the Beaufort Society

6.40pm: Lecture with Dr Sofia Nivarti, Fellow of St John’s College:

When Modernism Grows Old

The Bauhaus opened more than a century ago, and even post-war architectural masterpieces, from the Sydney Opera House to the Seagram Building in Manhattan, are past the half-century mark. Modernism, a movement that drew its expressive power from a desire to challenge the burdens of the past with a commitment to novelty, youth and innovation, has grown old. Modern buildings are now heritage sites.

What is the verdict 50 to 100 years later? How does modernism measure up to its intentions and ambitions? What has been, and is, the afterlife of modern architecture? This lecture reflects on the legacies of modern architecture, and considers how analyses of seminal 20th-century buildings change when interrogated from a distinctly 21st-century viewpoint. It draws, in particular, on the research conducted by Dr Nivarti for the upcoming book The Modern Legacy of Alvar, Aino and Elissa Aalto, published by Yale University Press, but also makes reference to the modern—and future—architecture of St John’s.

7.15pm: Drinks and canapés

9pm: Carriages