Dyed-in-the-Wool Modernism

Writing in The World of Interiors magazine in December 2022, Harriet Thorpe’s interest was aroused by the Klein Studio’s dereliction. In an introduction to her article written for Preserving Womersley, she reveals how the building eventually led her to the creative relationship between Klein and Womersley:

Like many before me, I was curious about the story behind the vacant modernist ruin in the Scottish Borders; the Bernat Klein Studio designed by Peter Womersley in 1972. Seeking to discover how it came to be abandoned and why, I was led in various directions, though mostly nowhere satisfactory, other than some interesting yet off-the-record intel and opinions – leaving me with an uncertain conclusion to my very first story for The World of Interiors magazine.

However, instead what did come alive during interviews was a vivid insight into the qualitative life of the building and the creative relationship between Klein and Womersley – and perhaps even more vividly so as a form of activism in the face of the building’s slow decay.

So while the conclusion to the story of the studio remains open-ended, I hope this story shows that there are many creative people at work all using their unique skills from storytelling, to curating, archiving to conservation, research and restoration to keep its legacy alive.

Read Harriet Thorpe's piece in The World of Interiors magazine.