ABSTRACT
In the twenty-first century, Britain's social and physical fabric is still broadly defined by the transformative events that took place in the middle of last century. The Second World War and its aftermath witnessed the birth of the welfare state and defined an architectural epoch that was responsible for creating many of the government offices, public institutions, schools, hospitals and homes that form the fabric of society today. Hutchison, Locke and Monk (HLM) are a comparatively unsung practice that thrived in this age and survived beyond it; whose body of work bears unique testament to the proud union of architecture and the welfare state over the last 50 years. Architecture's relationship with the welfare state spawned new cities and towns, civic centres, housing estates, schools, hospitals, medical centres, courts, prisons, and army barracks and gave life to some of Britain's foremost architectural practices who were responsible for innovating new ways of living and new ways of functioning as a society.
