Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London

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Social cohesion, necessary to build a community that would take control of its environment, collapsed with de-industrialisation, rapid migration in and out of a locality, social dumping and a breakdown of community and policing authority over anti-social behaviour. As such, things like lift shafts, ventilation ducts, staircases – even boiler rooms, were integrated into the fabric of the building in ways that celebrated them as distinct features rather than hidden away. The Royal Festival Hall is the largest venue in the Southbank Centre. Designed by Robert Matthew with Leslie Martin and Peter Munro, it was designed to represent the optimism and forward-thinking attitude of postwar Britain. 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? Despite softening attitudes to the post-war architectural style, the sight of London’s brutalist buildings elicits ecstatic raptures from some, but a near visceral hatred from others.

Brutalist Architecture (14 book series) Kindle edition

Opening with an informative history of the origins and philosophy of Brutalism, the book features 9 buildings to assemble: Alexandra Road Estate, Alton Estate, Aylesbury Estate, Ledbury Estate, National Theatre, Robin Hood Gardens, Barbican Estate, Balfron Tower and Space House. By the time the recreation centre was completed the cost of the project had spiralled out of all control, ballooning to a massive 12 times more than was initially planned. In spite of all that Brixton got a rec centre and we got another slice of brutalist architecture – one that is today, Grade II listed. 78 South Hill Park Brutalism wasn’t just used for high-rises, though. With the Alexandra Road estate, completed in 1978, architect Neave Brown saw the architectural style as a way to construct a modernist vision of a terraced street. Its architectural merits – although chastised for its expense during the time of construction – was recognised early, becoming the first post-war council estate to be listed in 1993. As was the case with its high-rise cousins, the flats in the Alexandra Road estate were designed to be egalitarian, a notion that holds true with the majority of Brutalist housing.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Dr Jonathan Foyle, the chief executive of the World Monuments Fund Britain, provided interesting architectural context for Brutalist buildings: “They are very muscular and everything is perhaps bigger than it needs to be, and for that reason I feel that brutalism is a modern take on gothic architecture… Both were designed from the inside out – the purpose of the building and what happens inside is the important part – the outside is merely the envelope that wraps it up.” Despite all the positive attention modernist and brutalist architecture has gained over the last decade, the future of most of these constructions is still uncertain. In many cases it still depends on the real estate market demands and local governments who struggle with their maintenance. Consequently, they are either being doomed to demolition, negligence or renovation with little respect towards their original design.” Architecture of Doom– Photographer Weronika Dudka shares stunning images with handy alphabetical indexing. 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.

Brutal London: Construct Your Own Concrete Capital

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.We are also about to go into another lengthy period of austerity after another even lengthier period of economic mismanagement by elites who represent that upper middle class interest before all others. If the Bank of England is to believed we face three years of zero growth.

London, 10 Brutalist Buildings + Map Brutalist Architecture London, 10 Brutalist Buildings + Map

Tom Spooner on Brutalism & Music– An exploration of the relationship between brutalist architecture and music. Assuming effective economic managers (which is a big assumption) and the will to house the population (especially young families), the next step is to delegate financial and decision-making powers to plenipotentiary local authorities (reversing policies of the last thirty or more years). Rooted in Modernism and evident in the work of Le Corbusier in the late 1940s, the term brutalism was first used in an architectural context by Swedish architect Hans Asplund in 1950 who discussed nybrutalism. In 1954 architectural critic Reyner Banham used the term more widely in his writings to refer to the work of English architects Alison and Peter Smithson. The couple who went on to create the iconic Hunstanton School in Norfolk and later, the Robin Hood Gardens in Poplar, East London. Their style rebelled against the more formal architecture of the 1930s and 40s. Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in. Brutalism is, of course, not to everyone's taste but its virtues are a functionality in and of itself and an authenticity in its presentation of materials. It solved major post-war social problems only to create new ones but the failures (as I shall argue) are failures of society rather than of the architecture.

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In fact, the avant-garde structure of the building was also meant to reflect the programme of events happening inside – creating a synergy between form and function that is reflected elsewhere in the building. For example, in the interior’s “classless-designed” bars and restaurants and the open foyer policy that allowed public access during opening hours. National Theatre When, finally, and probably not under the Tory look-alike Labour Party which has long since disconnected from its working class base, investment in social housing is considered as a political necessity it may only be after some quasi-revolutionary change at the heart of the nation.

of the Best Brutalist Architecture in London A Walking Tour of the Best Brutalist Architecture in London

In London, it was used heavily in reconstructing the city in the aftermath of World War II – particularly for social housing and government buildings – though as it grew in popularity its uses extended beyond these spheres. Best Brutalist Architecture in London The Barbican The nearest stations are Barbican London Underground station (easy to remember!) and Liverpool Street national rail station. At their best, these projects were never rabbit hutches but integrated into the environment with space to play for children, greenery and community facilities built into the design. Of course, the most magnificent still stands as a rich man's version - the City of London's Barbican, a model of its type. Of course, not all brutalist architecture is doomed, with some celebrated more than others. The Southbank Centre complex, including the Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Royal Festival Hall, and the adjacent National Theatre are marvels of engineering that have become icons of the city, both architecturally and culturally where they play host to numerous plays, shows and exhibitions every year. This piece of prime London brutalism also recently caught the attention of Grammy winner Harry Styles, with the brutalist Barbican taking a starring role in his music video for As It Was. To be fair, we always thought One Direction’s original music was also pretty Brutal.

Best Brutalist Architecture in London 

Rowley Way is clearly a success story, that is not the case for all B rutalist estates. Some have ‘ succeeded ’ and others have not, a factor is their design. At one level Brutalist buildings look really cool and monumental, with well thought out infrastructure, such as distance to local schools and amenities. However, i t’s hard to describe them visually as friendly, I’d leave that description to Finnish and Swedish contemporary housing , there’s a lot to be learnt from their designers and how their social housing estates are managed . One obvious exception is the Barbican Estate, its layout is very impressive. Russian Social Housing 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. 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 Brutalism, or ‘New Brutalism’ as it was sometimes referred to, has its roots in modernism but emerged as a movement against the architectural mainstream. It placed an emphasis on materials, textures and construction as well as functionality and equality. The brutalist architects challenged traditional notions of what a building should look like, focussing on interior spaces as much as exterior. They also showed the building’s construction, unafraid to make a feature of service towers, lifts, plumbing and ventilation ducts in their creations. In some cases, this was a celebration of the abundant energy available for the first time.