Richard and Su Roger's seminal house in London "gifted to the nation"

The modernist 22 Parkside house in Wimbledon, London, by Richard and Su Rogers has been given over to conservation charity The National Trust.

Designed by the pair in the late 1960s for Richard Rogers' parents, ownership of 22 Parkside has passed from the Rogers family to The National Trust, which plans to host events and guided tours of the seminal house.

Opening to the public on Saturday as part of London's Open House festival, the house is a celebrated example of modernist architecture and considered to be a prototype for Richard Rogers' later works, including the Lloyd's of London building and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Conservation group Twentieth Century Society celebrated the passing of ownership to The National Trust, hoping that it will ensure the long-lasting future of 22 Parkside.

"The Society is thrilled to see this Grade II*-listed modernist masterpiece of 20th-century architecture gifted to the nation," said Twentieth Century Society director Catherine Croft. "We can think of no better custodians than the National Trust to safeguard its future."

"With structural steel portal frames more commonly found in industrial buildings, windows from a bus, and insulation panels from a refrigerated truck, it's a prefabricated prototype for modern living unlike almost any other home in Britain," she continued.

"From this small acid-yellow pavilion off Wimbledon Common, to the heights of the Pompidou Centre and the Lloyd's Building, the house paved the way for the globe-straddling avant-garde architecture that followed."

The single-storey home is constructed from a yellow-painted steel frame with glass facades, designed to demonstrate how pre-fabrication could enable homes to be built quickly and affordably.

"22 Parkside is much more than a family home," said Ben Rogers, son of Richard and Su Rogers. "It is one of the most important buildings my father and mother created – a place where many of the ideas that would go on to influence my father's work and some of the world's most celebrated architecture were first tested and explored."

"As a family, we wanted to ensure that this remarkable house would be protected, cared for and shared with future generations, rather than remaining a private asset," he continued. "The National Trust brings the expertise, public purpose and long-term commitment needed to safeguard its future, while opening up its story to students, researchers and visitors."

Pritzker Prize-winning architect and high-tech pioneer Richard Rogers died in 2021 aged 88. In 2013, Dezeen interviewed the influential architect about his work on 22 Parkside, in which he revealed the house "led to most of the work I do".

The photography is by Megan Taylor

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