Walter Segal was a visionary architect who was born in Switzerland but spent most of his working life in the UK. One of the most fascinating figures of late 20th-century architecture, he was a Modernist who maintained an interest in traditional building techniques.

Segal trained in Berlin, a city that was at the forefront of Modernism in architecture, and moved to London in 1936. It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that he began to gain recognition for his ideas and methods. Today, Segal’s reputation continues to rise, not least because of his environmentally friendly approach to building.

The so-called ‘Segal Method’ was a way of constructing houses that eliminated the need for various processes such as brick-laying, cement-pouring and other techniques that Segal considered superfluous to the construction of a good house. Instead, he advocated a modular, timber-frame system that is reminiscent of 19th-century American houses or traditional Japanese architecture.

Segal himself was much influenced by the egalitarian principles of William Morris, as well as the early Modernists. “The buildings of the International Style”, wrote Segal, “were by definition unassuming…They were meant to promote wellbeing.” He was also inspired by traditional building principles, particularly those of Japan. In an essay on Walter Segal, Colin Ward wrote: “In his life, as well as his work, he tried to pare away the superfluous and concentrate on the important.”