VENUE UPDATE 28/10/25: now to be held at Tūranga, 60 Cathedral Square, Christchurch Central City in the TSB Space
Join us for an inspiring evening with author Ben Pentreath, one of the foremost designers of new traditional buildings and country houses in the world. Ben will be joined by Vincent Holloway, and together they will present a visual introduction to Ben’s work both here in Christchurch, and Australia, as well as some of his many projects in the UK and Europe. There will be an opportunity for questions from the audience.
All welcome, free event.
About the author
Ben Pentreath is a London-based architectural and interior designer, educator, and author. He received the 2023 Richard H. Driehaus Prize for excellence in the field of classical architecture.
Ben Pentreath’s book English Decoration, published in 2011, established his growing reputation as an author and he has been a regular contributor to the Financial Times and other journals. A sequel interiors book, English Houses, was published in 2016. His new book, An English Vision, a monograph of the work of the practice, was published by Rizzoli New York in 2024 and quickly became one of the best-selling interiors and architecture books of the year.
About the book
An English Vision is the first of Pentreath’s books to present his own output in its entirety—from his personal residences in Dorset, London, and Scotland that brought him international fame to many old and new houses that he has designed and some of the larger, town-scaled projects that make his practice unique in the world of traditional design. Although the results range from his colourful and romantic versions of the English country cottage to traditional splendour, there are underlying ideas that inform the breadth of his output—a sense of scale, proportion, craft, detail, sustainability, and appropriateness—that have a universal relevance today.
Pentreath has authored as well as taken all photographs in this book, which looks at some thirty case studies, large and small, including many previously unpublished works. The designs encompass an understanding of materials, texture, classical and vernacular detail, color, richness, and simplicity by turn—as exemplified in both sumptuous and honest interiors, grand country houses, and pragmatically organized town plans. While being steeped in a learned classicism, Pentreath’s work is celebrated by young and old around the world, as exemplified by his coverage in major media outlets.
