Max Bouttell (M.C.)

I am an architectural historian fascinated by how abstract ideas are concretised in architecture and urban design.

I was awarded NWO's PhDs in the Humanities grant (2024-2029) to write a social history of English neo-avant-garde architecture in the second half of the 20th century. It is particularly interested in how artistic, scientific, and political ideas influenced the development of these architects’ thought and practice, and in turn, how architects influenced debates in these fields. In keeping with the belief that we can understand the history of ideas through the medium of architecture, this project seeks to understand the life and legacy of English counterculture through their sin centres, fun palaces, and free zones.

I am a member of the Department of History and the Science and Technology Studies research cluster.