 Having been impressed by the work of Le Corbusier at the 1925 Paris Exhibition and that of fellow French Modernists André Lurçat and Robert Mallet-Stevens, Connell effectively launched the Modernist architectural style in Great Britain.Born in Eltham, in South Taranaki District, New Zealand, in 1901, Connell was raised in an artistic household that was somewhat exotic in small town New Zealand terms.His father, Nigel Douglas (Dido) Connell, ran a photographic studio and taught pastel drawing.