Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London

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Richard Seifart wielded unmatched influence over the London skyline – but not everyone loves the results. Take Centre Point as an example – unveiled in 1966, it was one of the tallest buildings in London… and one of its most hated. I’ve read that there is a programme in some places to demolish krushchyovkas, what happens to the residents? Are they automatically rehoused in the same area?

Islington’s brutalist architecture showcased in new book

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 I’m fascinated by English b rutalist architecture. My interest was initially triggered by reading James Ballard’s novel High-Rise, its depiction of the effect that a building can have on the human psyche. It is very powerful. Brutalist architecture is enigmatic, mysterious and rather breathtaking’.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.” One has to be pessimistic at so many levels. The reliance is likely to remain on a market that cannot deliver the subsidised mass solutions to the misery of homelessness and of young people not being able to start families (alongside yet more migrants making the problems worse). Architecture of Doom– Photographer Weronika Dudka shares stunning images with handy alphabetical indexing.

London | A Guide To Brutalism Brutalist Architecture London | A Guide To Brutalism

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.

Tom Spooner on Brutalism & Music– An exploration of the relationship between brutalist architecture and music. 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.

Jean Dubuffet | Barbican Jean Dubuffet | Barbican

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. I doubt that we will ever see the revival of an architecture that was so much of its time if only because technologies have moved on even if we were to have the imagination to reintroduce badly needed mass social housing. But did brutalism fail or did society fail? I tend to think more of the latter.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. The cylindrical structure was once home to the CAA or Civil Aviation Authority and became Grade II listed in 2015. The term brutalism came to refer to the functional raw concrete buildings emerging in the UK, and London in particular, in the post-war period. Due to the relatively low cost of concrete and surplus of energy, Brutalism was popular for rebuilding government buildings and providing social housing in the period of social solidarity following the Second World War. Tsentrosoyuz Building Moscow (Corbusier and Nicoli Kolli) CC BY SA 4.0 Image Ludvig14 Current Projects

Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London

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 Dave Hill– https://www.theguardian.com/uk/davehillblog/2011/jun/22/london-new-brutalism-film-appreciation 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?I really love the work of David Chipperfield, in particular, his reconstruction of the Neues Museu m . I’m also a fan of some of Daniel Libeskind’s buildings, especially the Jewish Museum in Berlin, it very powerfully conveys the feeling of pain , fear and despair. This is architecture which c an speak to people . 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. Thatcher thought that having a property stake (with the value, however, unrealisable without departure) was the solution but it was only the half of it. The new property holders needed to have the resources not only to buy their property but to maintain not only it but their community.