Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London

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The nearest stations are Barbican London Underground station (easy to remember!) and Liverpool Street national rail station. So many times was Brixton Recreation Centre nearly a failed project, it’s sort of a miracle that the building even exists today. But in just over half a century, brutal Britain began to be torn down. Some buildings didn’t even last that long. The vast Robin Hood Gardens estate in Poplar began its demise in 2017, just 45 years after it was first erected. Why the haste? Well, put simply, no other style of architecture has faced such severe criticism as the modernist style of brutalism. Though it might not be as well-known as Lasdun’s Brutalist masterpiece, The National Theatre, his design for the Royal College of Physicians is one you should see nonetheless.

London | Best Brutalist Buildings Where to See Brutalism In London | Best Brutalist Buildings

Hampstead isn’t all rolling heaths and quaint, cottage feels. It’s also home to a brutalist building with quite an origin story… John Meades– A-Z of Brutalism in the Guardian. Also, his BBC series Bunkers, Brutalism and Bloodymindedness: Concrete Poetry is well worth a watch.Brutalist London buildings are characterised by their geometric and sometimes symmetrical shapes and their minimalist aesthetics that showcase the building structure (usually concrete) over excessive design and stylings. The intellectual failing was equally important. Architects are the most prone of all artists to pure reason because they deal with materials. They are invariably attracted, like engineers, to the ideal of humanity rather than the actuality of our chaotic species. Pure reason is a-human.

Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate Through Russian Eyes - Greyscape Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate Through Russian Eyes - Greyscape

Simon Phipps has produced an invaluable photographic record of the brutalist architecture of London, borough by borough. He gives us its rugged beauty with only the most essential of commentaries. And he raises questions for me about what went wrong? Softer and curvier than the other buildings in this guide, The Standard is Brutalist London done differently. It was the former Camden Town Hall Annexe (and the home of the architecture department behind developments like the Alexandra Road Estate), now it’s a swish hotel.Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Brutal North: Post-War Modernist Architecture in the North of Brutal North: Post-War Modernist Architecture in the North of

Tom Spooner on Brutalism & Music– An exploration of the relationship between brutalist architecture and music. Brutal London presents a new photographic look at a side of the capital which has been ignored for too long. The raw concrete and imposing mass of Brutalist architecture is undeniably part of the fabric of London’s landscape – both visual and social – and part of our urban history. Momentum is now growing to celebrate, reclaim and preserve buildings which were once written off or allowed to decay. There has been a shift in attitude towards the architectural style of Brutalism. Buildings once dismissed as ugly have now found themselves the objects of new found affection. When it comes to Brutalist architecture, London is home to some of the finest examples on the planet. This is a guide to Brutalist architecture in London as well as an overview of the architectural style and its origins. Tsentrosoyuz Building Moscow (Corbusier and Nicoli Kolli) CC BY SA 4.0 Image Ludvig14 Current Projects

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G raphic design fascinates me and I really enjoy creating posters and CD covers. I ’ m continuously developing ideas, some are projects connected to my studies. Last year I created a cover for a book called ‘ Colour in Architecture and Art forms in world culture. Graphic artist Chris Ashworth is a firm favourite. The Grade I listed building overlooks leafy Regent’s Park and sits amidst the area’s palatial Regency architecture, somehow managing to be sympathetic to both whilst also standing out as a modernist masterpiece in its own right. The Standard It’s been allowed to decay a little over the years but one pro of building with concrete is that it’s not decayed much. In 2022 Seaforth Land was contracted to repair and refurbish the structure which is expected to be made into fancy offices, and possibly a retail centre. In general (with a few exceptions) this was public sector architecture, fruitfully competing with the equally important Scandinavian 'social democrat' model. It died with the death of corporatist Britain, the rise of private sector Britain and the sell-off of social housing under Thatcherism. The brutalist Barbican Estate is located in the City of London Square Mile and we’d recommend you arrive via Barbican Tube station.