The Romance of Classicism

Available to pre-order now.

The Romance of Classicism – Designing the English Country House for Today is published by Rizzoli in September 2026. Written by ADAM Architecture Partner George Saumarez Smith, the book is a reflection on the architect’s childhood, education, influences and career.

In the introduction, George asks: “Why then have I specialised in this highly specific area of architectural practice? The answer is simple: I aim to design buildings that will have a lasting value. They are designed to be adaptable, weathering softly and gently, using natural materials and a traditional architectural language that has developed over centuries. It is a patient approach, one that sees buildings improving rather than deteriorating over time. It is an approach that chimes with some of the concerns of our age: the bene­fits of long-lasting rather than temporary; the natural rather than the synthetic; craft rather than industry.”

The chapters include George’s description of his love of drawing, an explanation of the title of the book and what he means by “The Romance of Classicism”, the seven steps of his design process and twelve guiding principles, all illustrated with examples of houses and garden buildings he has designed over his career to date. In the concluding chapter he reflects that despite working within a principled framework, “the reality is that every house will be different. It needs to reflect the particular conditions of the site, the local region and the personalities and lives of the owners. Every new project will involve new ideas many of which will come from the owners themselves. So, whilst we might draw up a set of rules to work by, the design will be a collaboration and the rules may well be broken”.

The book also reveals those who have influenced George’s career, particularly his grandfather, the architect Raymond Erith (1904-1973). “Almost uniquely amongst his peers, my grandfather was not swayed by modernism and continued to design in the classical tradition until his death in 1973. That was also the year of my birth; my grandfather came to my christening but died only a few weeks later.

“Although I did not know him as I was growing up, my grandfather was nonetheless a strong presence in my childhood […] Throughout his career he had produced large presentation draw­ings of his designs to be exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA); these had remained in the family and as a child I loved looking at them up close to see his amazing draughtsmanship.

“Over the course of his professional life, my grandfather had worked on many kinds of building, but his best-known project was the recon­struction of 10 Downing Street […] But when I was a child, it was his newly designed houses that I was fascinated by, and particularly Great House in Dedham, a house he had designed for his parents-in-law in the 1930s and where my aunt and uncle lived throughout my childhood […] in many ways my architectural career has continued a family tradition.”

The book is beautifully produced, with reproductions of George’s meticulously detailed drawings, for which he has become so well-known, and photography by Peter Dixon specifically commissioned for the publication.