Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London

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City University. Picture: Simon Phipps / Extracted from Brutal London by Simon Phipps. (Image: Archant) To get the best Brutalist architecture view of the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate in Camden, London, head to the east end of the estate and climb up the stairs by the boarded up shops to get views from the upper levels. Brutalist architecture first came about in the 1950s post war, emerging from the earlier modernist movement at the turn of the century. With your fascination for architecture and the built environment, which architect particularly inspires you and speaks to what you would wish to achieve one day ? Tom Spooner on Brutalism & Music– An exploration of the relationship between brutalist architecture and music.

Brutal London — September Publishing

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 The estates were the new society but only in its theorising. They presumed a type of human who would be happy to be functionally assigned their bit of space and play their role in society but this assumed they would have an autonomous role in society not merely be atomised by capitalism. It should also be mentioned that as at 2023, Thamesmead is in the midst of major redevelopment works so much of the best London brutalist architecture here may soon be lost. How to get to ThamesmeadBrutalism, 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. 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 A (probably inflationary) surge of building will need socially concerned architects who we hope will have the common sense to investigate what went wrong with the estates of the 1960s and 1970s and build with a mind to sustainability and durability (rather than to meet eco-fashion). 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.”

Brutalist Architecture in London Time to Discover: Brutalist Architecture in London

Once referred to as the NLA / Noble Lowndes Annuities Tower, most people affectionately refer to it as the ‘50p building’ in Croydon, given its unique shape. 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. Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.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.