Peter Blundell Jones Library

Welcome to the Peter Blundell Jones Library of the University of Sheffield School of Architecture and Landscape. The Peter Blundell Jones Library is an open-access digital learning resource which aims to document, disseminate and celebrate the work of British architect, writer and teacher Peter Blundell Jones (1949 - 2016). 

Teaching  

Peter Blundell Jones lectured at the University of Cambridge and London South Bank University, before taking a professorship at the University of Sheffield from 1994. Peter offered numerous lectures on architectural history and theory, many based on his written publications, which usually attempt to draw general conclusions from highly specific case studies, often starting with a single building, place, or text. 

A key part of Peter’s work was the detailed study of the urban history of Sheffield, which resulted in the "Sheffield 1900 Models". Another part of his work was with PhD students, many of whom were engaged in East-West studies, and he encouraged interconnections between their subject areas to produce a common body of work for all. 

For Peter, the pursuit of an ever-deepening shared study of architecture in relation to its social meaning and value is paramount, and he sought common factors in this across time and space, embracing both the work of named architects and that of communities.

Research

When Peter studied architecture in the late 1960s, orthodox modernism had reached a crisis because buildings had become construction-driven, ignoring issues of context and meaning. Peter discovered that there was an alternative modernist line, deeper and more subtle, headed by architects like Asplund, Häring, and Scharoun. Peter wrote monographs on these architects, as well as an alternative history: 'Modern Architecture through Case Studies'. Meanwhile he became increasingly concerned by the way people have been excluded by bureaucracies and specialists from decisions about the buildings they inhabit. This provoked his interest in participation and in the vernacular, which shows how people built for themselves before architects took over.

In total Peter has written 13 books, not counting foreign editions, and over 500 articles in 47 journals spread over 13 countries, on areas include the studies of 19th and 20th century architects, the birth of modernism internationally, participation, urban history, architecture and ritual, architecture and landscape, architecture of China, Japan and Korea, and history of architectural education. 

Acknowledgements

The Peter Blundell Jones Library would not have been possible without the support and enthusiasm of many academics and professionals, and the support from the University of Sheffield Faculty of Social Sciences and School of Architecture since 2021. 

The Peter Blundell Jones Library is established by Dr Xiang Ren with support from Peter Blundell Jones families.  

Its Phase One (2021 summer) research assistant was Amy Crellin, Phase Two (2022 summer) research assistant was Ella Murrell, Phase Three (2023 summer) research assistant was Mengting Zhang, all graduated from the University of Sheffield.