Sussex-based architect John Schwerdt (1924-89) commenced his architectural career after wartime service in the Royal Navy. He established his practice in Lewes in 1954, subsequently opening an office in London. The practice remained relatively small and selective, specialising in historic conservation work – a personal passion of Schwerdt’s – in the UK and France.

Schwerdt was heavily influenced by the Modernist principles of Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe and the De Stijl architects. This influence is evident in a residential project in East Sussex, completed by Schwerdt in 1964 and widely acknowledged as the architect’s magnum opus. The single-storey flat-roofed building, with vast glazed walls and a monochrome palette, has been described as well-crafted and uncompromisingly modern.

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