MARS Group
Encyclopedia
The Modern Architectural Research Group, or MARS Group, was a British
architectural
think tank founded in 1933 by several prominent architects and architectural critics of the time involved in the British modernist movement
. The MARS Group actually came after several previous but unsuccessful attempts at creating an organization to support modernist architects in Britain such as those that had been formed on continental Europe, like the Union des Artistes Modernes in France
.
The group first formed when Sigfried Giedion
of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne
asked Morton Shand to assemble a group that would represent Britain at their events. Shand, along with Wells Coates
, chose Maxwell Fry
and F. R. S. Yorke
as the founding members. They were also joined by a few members of Tecton, another architectural group, by Ove Arup
and by John Betjeman
, a poet and contributor to Architectural Review
. The group's greatest success came in 1938 with a show at the New Burlington Galleries, but it also unfortunately left them in debt. The MARS group proposed a radical plan for the redevelopment of postwar London, the details of which were published the Architectural Review in 1942. At its height there were about 58 members in the group.The group itself began to lose steam along with the movement and many members left as a result of creative differences. The group finally disbanded in 1957.
The plan was devised by what has been described as a 'small and devoted' group, under the town planning sub committee of MARS, chaired by Arthur Korn
, and including Arthur Ling, Maxwell Fry
, the latter who worked as secretary, and fellow Jewish emigre, engineer Felix Samuely
. Arthur Korn is described as having been 'the main spring of the enterprise' and as providing an 'infectious enthusiasm' that drove the project forward. Influenced by the Soviet urbanist Miliutin, the plan essentially conceived the centre of the city remaining much the same but with a series of linear forms or tongues extending from the Thames, described as like a herring bone, composed of social units and based around the rail network. Habitation in each social unit was to consist mainly of flats and owed much to Le Corbusier
's notion of the unite d'habitation
. Described as 'unworkable' by Dennis Sharp
, in his 1971 essay on the plan, he concedes it 'was not a concrete scheme but a concept that would by its very nature produce interpretations'. Marmaras and Sutcliffe argue the plan 'saw London almost entirely in terms of movement ...[being] presented primarily as a centre of exchange and communications'. Moughtin and Shirley (1995) note that one of the aims of the plan was to promote public transport, where with railways integral to planning, the 'need for cars will be few'. . Korn's initial chairmanship of the plan was interrupted by his 18 month internment in the Isle of Man
from 1939, being a German citizen, during which period work on the plan fizzled out. On his release, in 1941, work recommenced, an exhibition of the plan was organised and a 'description and analysis' was published under the joint authorship of Arthur Korn and Felix Samuely in the Architectural Association journal in 1942.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
think tank founded in 1933 by several prominent architects and architectural critics of the time involved in the British modernist movement
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
. The MARS Group actually came after several previous but unsuccessful attempts at creating an organization to support modernist architects in Britain such as those that had been formed on continental Europe, like the Union des Artistes Modernes in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The group first formed when Sigfried Giedion
Sigfried Giedion
Sigfried Giedion was a Bohemia-born Swiss historian and critic of architecture....
of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne
Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne
The Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne – CIAM was an organization founded in 1928 and disbanded in 1959, responsible for a series of events and congresses arranged around the world by the most prominent architects of the time, with the objective of spreading the principles of the Modern...
asked Morton Shand to assemble a group that would represent Britain at their events. Shand, along with Wells Coates
Wells Coates
Wells Wintemute Coates OBE was an architect, designer and writer. He was, for most of his life, an ex-patriate Canadian architect who is best known for his work in England...
, chose Maxwell Fry
Maxwell Fry
Edwin Maxwell Fry, CBE, RA, FRIBA, FRTPI, known as Maxwell Fry , was an English modernist architect of the middle and late 20th century, known for his buildings in Britain, Africa and India....
and F. R. S. Yorke
F. R. S. Yorke
Francis Reginald Stevens Yorke , known professionally as F. R. S. Yorke and informally as Kay or K, was an English architect and author....
as the founding members. They were also joined by a few members of Tecton, another architectural group, by Ove Arup
Ove Arup
Sir Ove Nyquist Arup, CBE, MICE, MIStructE known as Ove Arup, was a leading Anglo-Danish engineer and generally considered to be one of the foremost architectural structural engineers of his time...
and by John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
, a poet and contributor to Architectural Review
Architectural Review
The Architectural Review is a monthly international architectural magazine published in London since 1896. Articles cover the built environment which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism as well as theory of these subjects....
. The group's greatest success came in 1938 with a show at the New Burlington Galleries, but it also unfortunately left them in debt. The MARS group proposed a radical plan for the redevelopment of postwar London, the details of which were published the Architectural Review in 1942. At its height there were about 58 members in the group.The group itself began to lose steam along with the movement and many members left as a result of creative differences. The group finally disbanded in 1957.
The MARS Plan for London
- "The plan for London issued by the Mars Group (the English wing of CIAM) and prepared by their Town Planning Committee was a marked contrast to anything that had gone before and, one might add, anything produced subsequently. It was frankly Utopian and Socialistic in concept." Dennis Sharp, 1971.
The plan was devised by what has been described as a 'small and devoted' group, under the town planning sub committee of MARS, chaired by Arthur Korn
Arthur Korn (architect)
Arthur Korn was a German Jewish architect and urban planner who was a proponent of modernism in Germany and the UK.-Life and career:...
, and including Arthur Ling, Maxwell Fry
Maxwell Fry
Edwin Maxwell Fry, CBE, RA, FRIBA, FRTPI, known as Maxwell Fry , was an English modernist architect of the middle and late 20th century, known for his buildings in Britain, Africa and India....
, the latter who worked as secretary, and fellow Jewish emigre, engineer Felix Samuely
Felix Samuely
Felix James Samuely was a Structural engineer.Born in Vienna, he immigrated to Britain in 1933. Worked with Erich Mendelsohn on the De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea , the British Pavilion for the Brussels World’s Fair and on various parts of the Festival of Britain. Published MARS plan for...
. Arthur Korn is described as having been 'the main spring of the enterprise' and as providing an 'infectious enthusiasm' that drove the project forward. Influenced by the Soviet urbanist Miliutin, the plan essentially conceived the centre of the city remaining much the same but with a series of linear forms or tongues extending from the Thames, described as like a herring bone, composed of social units and based around the rail network. Habitation in each social unit was to consist mainly of flats and owed much to Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
's notion of the unite d'habitation
Unité d'Habitation
The Unité d'Habitation is the name of a modernist residential housing design principle developed by Le Corbusier, with the collaboration of painter-architect Nadir Afonso...
. Described as 'unworkable' by Dennis Sharp
Dennis Sharp
Dennis Sharp was a British architect, professor, curator, historian, author and editor.Dennis Sharp studied at Bedford Modern School and at Luton School of Art...
, in his 1971 essay on the plan, he concedes it 'was not a concrete scheme but a concept that would by its very nature produce interpretations'. Marmaras and Sutcliffe argue the plan 'saw London almost entirely in terms of movement ...[being] presented primarily as a centre of exchange and communications'. Moughtin and Shirley (1995) note that one of the aims of the plan was to promote public transport, where with railways integral to planning, the 'need for cars will be few'. . Korn's initial chairmanship of the plan was interrupted by his 18 month internment in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
from 1939, being a German citizen, during which period work on the plan fizzled out. On his release, in 1941, work recommenced, an exhibition of the plan was organised and a 'description and analysis' was published under the joint authorship of Arthur Korn and Felix Samuely in the Architectural Association journal in 1942.