Designed in 1949 by Alison and Peter Smithson and opened in 1954, Hunstanton Secondary Modern School was a radical series of Miesian boxes landed in Norfolk; and a key building in the development of British modernism.
The team behind its construction, and the documentation of its construction, included not just the Smithsons but the sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi, who created a large collage for the school; the artist-photographer Nigel Henderson; as well as the pioneering structural engineer Ronald Jenkins of Ove Arup & Partners. The group fused, found common creative cause and continued to collaborate.
The Smithsons designed Jenkins’ office at Arup which featured a Paolozzi collage on the ceiling, a project which saw them become a cross-disciplinary collective dedicated to exploring the problems and potentials of mass media and other manifestations of modernity. The critic Reyner Banham would tag that broader project 'New Brutalism' in 1955.
In the meantime the team, now the nucleus of what was the Independent Group, also helped create the hugely influential ‘Parallel of Life and Art’ exhibition at the ICA in 1953. Tate Britain’s ‘New Brutalist Image 1949-1955’ exhibition, celebrates this short but seismic collaborative blast with previously unseen pictures by Henderson as well as plans and drawings by the Smithsons.
The staircase at Hunstanton Secondary Modern School. © Tate
Structural engineer Ronald Jenkins’ office at Arup featured a Paolozzi collage on the ceiling. Photography: Nigel Henderson. © Tate
'Collage Mural', by Eduardo Paolozzi, 1952. © The Eduardo Paolozzi Foundation
‘Plaster Blocks', by Eduardo Paolozzi, 1952. Photography: Nigel Henderson. © Tate
The interior of Henderson’s house in Bow, London. Photography: Nigel Henderson. © Tate
A portrait of Henderson's daughter in the family's front room, also decorated with designs by Paolozzi. Photography: Nigel Henderson. © Tate
ADDRESS
Tate Britain
Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
-
Meet Malak Mattar, the Palestinian artist behind the 'Together for Palestine' concert at London's Wembley ArenaThe London-based artist curates a landmark concert of music and art in support of Gaza, alongside Brian Eno, James Blake, Jamie xx, Neneh Cherry and more
-
A new coffee table book proves that one designer’s trash is another’s treasureThe Rizzoli tome, launching today (16 September 2025), delves into the philosophy and process of Retrouvius, a design studio reclaiming salvaged materials in weird and wonderful ways
-
A carbon-emission-busting house, yeast-biomass building, and more ‘Designs for a Cooler Planet’‘Designs for a Cooler Planet’ returns to Aalto University in Finland as part of the annual Helsinki design and architecture week, highlighting buildings, materials and solutions towards a better future
-
From activism and capitalism to club culture and subculture, a new exhibition offers a snapshot of 1980s BritainThe turbulence of a colourful decade, as seen through the lens of a diverse community of photographers, collectives and publications, is on show at Tate Britain until May 2025
-
Brutalism in film: the beautiful house that forms the backdrop to The Room Next DoorThe Room Next Door's production designer discusses mood-boarding and scene-setting for a moving film about friendship, fragility and the final curtain
-
Jasleen Kaur wins the Turner Prize 2024Jasleen Kaur has won the Turner Prize 2024, recognised for her work which reflects upon everyday objects
-
'You survive with grace': Alvaro Barrington at the Tate BritainAlvaro Barrington considers Black culture with Grace installed in Tate Britain’s Duveen Galleries
-
‘Women in Revolt!’ at Tate Britain is a deliciously angry tour de force of feminist art‘Women in Revolt!’ puts feminist art from 1970 – 1990 under the spotlight at Tate Britain
-
Cornelia Parker’s major Tate Britain survey explores British fragilityAt Tate Britain, Cornelia Parker’s first London survey show dissects politics and history and reframes everyday life
-
Turner Prize 2020 bursary winners announcedTen artists have been selected to win this year's historic Turner Bursaries
-
Photographer Leandro Farina casts a rare, cinematic light on Balfron TowerWe sit down (from afar) with the London-based photographer to get his take on the past life of a Brutalist icon on the cusp of transformation
