1720

For the most part, architectural history in Britain is the story of gradual change and evolution, of long term trends that give meaning to events as they unfold, even moments of apparent crescendo and climax. From time to time, however, there comes a tipping point when old certainties are overturned, new ideas break free and the clock of history is reset: we call this a Year Zero. This series of essays invites writers, critics, historians and architects to identify and reflect on a single Year Zero – when the trajectories of architectural and broader history connect and coincide and the status quo is changed forever. 


Olivia Horsfall Turner, Curator, Designs and V&A+RIBA Architecture Partnership Lead Curator, writes about 1720, reflecting on the relationship between the South Sea Bubble and Palladianism.