The idea of municipal architects in the UK generally conjures a particular era in our minds. The 1960s and 70s were a time of bold public building programmes, led by local authority architectural teams. Many of these teams are well-celebrated now, from those working under Ted Hollamby (Lambeth LBC and London Docklands), to Colin Stansfield Smith, (Hampshire CC) and Sydney Cook (Camden LBC).

However, according to Public Practice, ‘in 1976, 49% of architects worked in the public sector'; in 2020, this had fallen to ‘less than 1% nationally'. The heyday of municipal architecture seems to have passed.