Building muscle: London architecture walks and runs
Try these London architecture walks and runs for some physical and intellectual edification
As the English capital begins to emerge from its third lockdown, we share a selection of architectural running and walking tours to reacquaint yourself with the city and its iconic brutalist architecture.
London architecture walks and runs
Charles Baudelaire, the great 19th-century poet, essayist, and dedicated urbanite, was a keen advocate of exploring cities on foot. ‘What strange phenomena we find in a great city,’ he wrote. ‘All we need do is stroll about with our eyes open.’ Change that indulgent, flanneuring stroll up to a gentle athletic jog and you’ll get to see even more.
London-based personal trainer Ed Conway has long been a Baudelairian advocate of working away from the limited confines of the gymnasium, training his clients instead, in gardens and parks, on the streets, in the concrete, brick and towering thrum of the big city.
An architectural autodidact, Ed’s interest in London’s ever-evolving design and construction was fired by running amongst the capital’s fine examples of mid-century, modernist and brutalist buildings, observing and appreciating material and edifice on the air-soled hoof.
These two passions have been combined to create a series of five specialist urban running routes that explore the best of the city’s architectural delights. Here, Ed shares a selection of his architecture runs, giving London-dwellers an easy guide to visual and physical edification on the go. For those outside the English capital, these regimes can inspire your own architecture-focused fitness forays around your hometown. For those who prefer a gentle stroll to high-octane cardio, the routes are ideal for architectural walks as much as runs.
So slip on your trainers, open your eyes, and discover the city. The race is on...
Route: Hampstead – 1930’s modernism and mid-century brutalism
This run mainly focuses on architecture of the 1930s, when many left-wing intelligentsia from eastern Europe were seeking refuge in London from Nazi Germany. Either inspired by the Bauhaus or forced to relocate after its closure, architects, designers and artists collaborated on and greatly influenced the design elements of the newly developed buildings around Hampstead.
The run is bookended by two pioneering 1970s low-rise, high-density estates that sought to reimagine the reject cheap, poorly built tower blocks that were popular following World War II.
You'll see:
Dunboyne Estate by NeaveBrown
Isoken by Wells Coates
Housden House by Brian Housden
2 Willow Road by Erno Goldfinger
Brand Hill Estate by Benson & Forsyth
Sun House by Maxwell Fry
66 Frognal by Connell, Lucas & Ward
Alexandra Road Estate by NeaveBrown
Route: Bethnal Green – social housing and brutalism
The run follows many of architects Berthold Lubetkin and Denys Lasdun's egalitarian social housing developments of the '50s and '60s, which replaced bombed-out Victorian terraces destroyed during the Blitz.
These buildings sought to reconnect the East End communities that had been ripped apart by the bombings with remodelled versions of terraces houses. Their maisonettes in multiple-story format and communal spaces for social interactions.
You'll see:
Keeling House by Denys Lasdun
Haggerston School by Erno Goldfinger
Sivil House by Berthold Lubetkin
Dorset Estate by Berthold Lubetkin
Barnsley St by Noel Moffat
Trevelyn House & Sulkin House by Maxwell Fry & Lasdun
Lakeview Estate by Berthold Lubetkin
Claremont Estate by Berthold Lubetkin
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Route: Regent's Park to Camden
An array of social and private modernist housing that links Erno Goldfinger and Denys Lasdun to their protege Peter Tabori and also the projects of Sydney Cook, the Head of Camden Borough's Architecture Department throughout the 1960s and 70s.
You'll see:
20 Regents Park Road by Erno Goldfinger
Royal College of Physicians by Denys Lasdun
Oakshott Court by Peter Tabori
Osssulton Estate by LCC
Maiden Lane by Benson & Forsyth
INFORMATION
-
The McLaren W1 is the latest in the sports car maker's tech-saturated Ultimate Series
First F1, then P1 and now W1, McLaren Automotive reveals its latest limited-edition supercar to the world, a £2m concoction of hybrid power and active aero that is, unsurprisingly, already sold out
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Paul Rudolph at The Met: ‘from Christmas lights to megastructures’
‘Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph’ opens at the Met in New York, exploring the modernist master's work through a feast of an exhibition
By Stephanie Murg Published
-
‘London: Lost Interiors’ gathers unseen imagery of some of the capital’s most spectacular homes
This new monograph is a fascinating foray into the interior life of London, charting changing tastes, emerging styles and the shifting social history of grand houses in the heart of a fast-changing city
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The Surrenne spa will relax your body and blow your mind
Surrenne is London’s new spa and health club, located at The Emory Hotel. Hannah Tindle steps inside and emerges transformed
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
These London spas are utterly relaxing urban escapes
These London spas offer transformative treatments in awe-inspiring spaces for total relaxation in the midst of the big city
By Mary Cleary Published
-
London gyms for workouts with a wow factor
The best London gyms are easy on the eye and tough on muscles. Use our edit to choose the top spots for fitness classes, wellness offerings and post-workout pancakes
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
The best gyms around the world for design buffs in 2018
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Alex Eagle Sporting Club at 180 The Strand: from body rolling to sound escapes
Alex Eagle Sporting Club takes over 180 The Strand’s top floor, offering fitness classes and wellness and beauty therapies spanning the pioneering and the peculiar
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Skate park design goes to the British seaside with Guy Hollaway’s F51
F51 is Folkestone's brand new, dedicated, multistorey skate park, courtesy of the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust and Hollaway Studio
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
Community centre architecture redefined: Holborn House by 6a and Caragh Thuring opens
Holborn House by 6a Architects and Caragh Thuring opens for the Holborn Community Association in London, bridging art and community architecture with people at its heart
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
Pink concrete skatepark is a striking urban landmark in the Chihuahuan Desert
A team of architects, landscape designers, sociologists and urban planners came together to create La Duna, a fine example of skatepark architecture on the northern border of Mexico
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated