75: Towards a New Cathedral

An exhibition revisiting the unsuccessful entries to the 1951 competition that produced Basil Spence's winning design for the new Coventry Cathedral.

Marking 75 years since Basil Spence's winning design for Coventry Cathedral was first revealed, this exhibition turns to the 204 losing submissions from the architectural competition, which were ridiculed after being exhibited at King Henry VIII School in Coventry. Displaying contemporary submission material and mediated debate, it presents the unsuccessful proposals as valuable, underexplored contributions showing the diversity of design in Britain's early search for a post-war ecclesiastical architecture. The exhibition is part of a wider study on the representation of architectural competitions and the unbuilt in Britain.