Conservation Architecture Areas were established 50 years ago in 1967 by the Civic Amenities Act and the Bloomsbury Conservation Area Advisory Committee (BCAAC), held an event to celebrate their important contribution to the preservation and enhancement of our built environment. Hosted by Hugh Cullum Architects, the Conservation Advisory Committee was addressed by Frank Dobson, the long-serving MP for Holborn and St Pancras (1979 to 2015). Frank Dobson has lived in Bloomsbury for many years and has supported BCAAC throughout by actively championing the cause of conservation in the local area. The Bloomsbury Conservation Area is large: approximately 160 hectares and is bounded by Euston Road to the north and High Holborn and Lincoln's Inn Fields to the south and from Tottenham Court Road in the west to King's Cross Road in the east. The Bloomsbury Conservation Area was one of the first to be designated after Conservation Areas were established in…

We are sad to hear the news of the death of our near neighbour in Bloomsbury, Sir Howard Hodgkin. Sir Howard was at the time of his death, the greatest British contemporary artist, known for his bold, flamboyant and colourful paintings. He also applied his art to architecture. Buildings, often surprisingly rarely, incorporate public art and when they do, it can be an unsuccessful marriage. However, the British Council building in New Delhi by Charles Correa, with its boldly muralled front façade by Hodgkin, is a rare example of a seamless and successful collaboration between architect and artist. “I visited the building in 1992, shortly after its completion when I was in the first year of my architectural studies. Sweeping curves of black stone and white marble are caged behind a restrained front facade of terracotta-red sandstone. The muralled facade feels like it wants to break free, but can’t. I vividly remember stepping…