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The twenty-first century version of Elizabeth Bennett snooping around Pemberley has come to London, as modern masterpiece 22 Parkside will be open to public visits for the first time.
World-renowned architect Richard Rogers and designer Su Rogers’ Wimbledon home – featuring bright yellow and green walls, floor-to-ceiling glass windows and minimal furniture – has been given to the National Trust, and soon, anyone will be able to wander through its lime green interior.
The Grade-II modernist house (also known as Wimbledon House or Rogers House) will open up to the public for the first time on Saturday September 12 as part of London’s Open House festival. The National Trust plans to host guided visits, educational partnerships and interactive digital content at the site in the future.
After designing 22 Parkside in 1967, Richard Rogers went on to design major landmarks like Paris’ Centre Pompidou, Lloyds of London (both of which were inspired by the house) and the Millennium Dome in Greenwich. The trust has described the abode as a ‘landmark example of twentieth century design’ and ‘one of the most significant homes in British architectural history’.
Rogers is known for creating a number of other iconic London builds, from the Channel 4 building to Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, but this is perhaps his wackiest. The single-story house embraces modernism and minimalism throughout its design, and certainly stands out with its bright colouring.
Ben Rogers, the son of Richard and Su Rogers, said: ‘22 Parkside is much more than a family home. It is one of the most important buildings my father and mother created – a place where many of the ideas that would go on to influence my father’s work and some of the world’s most celebrated architecture were first tested and explored.’
National Trust director-general Hilary McGrady added: ‘We are profoundly grateful to the Rogers family for placing this extraordinary house in our care. Their generosity means that 22 Parkside will now become part of our shared inheritance, belonging not to a single family but to the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
‘This extraordinary gift will ensure that a building where world-changing ideas were born continues to inspire new generations of thinkers, makers and creators.’
Whether you’re an architecture aficionado, or just want to snoop around a fancy house, the newest addition to the National Trust is a bright, bold and briefly free way to spend a day out in Wimbledon.
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