Flick through ‘Brutal Wales’, a book celebrating concrete architecture

Brutal Wales is a treat – both for lovers of brutalist architecture and concrete buildings, but also for history and photography enthusiasts, as it offers an indulgent journey through a series of established and lesser-known Welsh gems of the particular genre. All are seen through the lens of accomplished photographer Simon Phipps, who explored Welsh modernist architecture through a total of 60 case studies, found in this new book by September Publishing. 

Brutal Wales: a deep dive into Welsh 20th-century architecture

Following up on Phipps' earlier photographic survey, Finding Brutalism, which looked at the architecture movement's expressions across the UK, this new architecture book focuses on Wales, taking a deep dive into a series of modernist finds. 

‘In their bold imagination and visionary execution [these buildings] help connect us to a period in our history that is all too easily overlooked and neglected – the recent past,' writes John Grindrod in the book's introduction.

The buildings included span the width and breadth of Wales – from an electricity substation in Swansea and the Margam Crematorium to rare interiors of the Trostre steelworks and the undercroft of the George Street Bridge in Newport.

Brutal Wales forms the latest in a series of publications by Phipps, who has been investigating brutalist architecture across the country for more than 20 years. 

'They are fragments from another age, but in their modernity contain the stirrings of change that foreshadow devolution, an even grander project that would only come to pass some decades later,' Grindrod's introduction continues. 

The book is designed by Marc Jennings, and comes with both Welsh and English language text throughout. A collaborative exhibition between Swansea Museum and Phipps will mark the book's launch in the spring of 2024. 

Available to pre-order, £30, septemberpublishing.org and amazon.co.uk