To its detractors, London is a city with more than its fair share of Brutalist architecture. To its haters, the capital is bespoiled by the preponderance of post-war concrete. Happily, not everyone is so down on the era of monumental concrete design, as demonstrated by the ongoing love for the Barbican Centre, the recent listing (finally) of the Southbank Centre and overhauls and updates for everything from key pieces by Richard Seifer, Ernö Goldinger and many more.
Brunel University by R Sheppard, Robson & Partners, 1966, from Brutalist London
Camberwell Submarine by T Hollamby and B Jacoby, 1974, from Brutalist London
All this concrete culture is ably and dramatically represented in Owen Hopkin’s new book Brutalist London. The author of the recent Less is Bore, Hopkins has switched genres from Po-mo to Brutalism and teamed up with a publisher which already offers a Brutalist London Map and has also put out the excellent Brutalist Interiors. Taking all-important camera duties is Nigel Green, a long-term collaborator with Blue Crow and the photographer behind the book Brutalist Paris.
This highly capable team have created a superb architectural guidebook that doesn’t sugarcoat the often ominous and overbearing character of Brutalist architecture, something that some people can never get past. Yet in Green’s dramatic black and white imagery – sometimes but not always enhanced by bright sunlight and sharp shadows – the aesthetic is laid bare, for good and ill.
Yes, Brutalism can be just that – brutal – but it’s also powerful and sculptural and undeniably urban in character, offering up a robust dialogue with its surroundings.
Alexandra Road Housing by Neave Brown, 1978, from Brutalist London
Institute of Education by Denys Lasdun & Partners, 1976, from Brutalist London
Brutalist London contains over 50 key buildings, from familiar sites like the Southbank, Barbican Centre, Trellick Tower and Alexandra Road housing, through to more esoteric examples like the ‘Camberwell Submarine’ and Brunel University. Up next? Brutalist Berlin. With increasing heritage protection and a growing culture of architectural adaptive re-use, the genre looks set to run and run.
