Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London

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Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together. Simon Phipps has produced an invaluable photographic record of the brutalist architecture of London, borough by borough. He gives us its rugged beauty with only the most essential of commentaries. And he raises questions for me about what went wrong? In an interview with the Financial Times, Dr Jonathan Foyle, the chief executive of the World Monuments Fund Britain, provided interesting architectural context for Brutalist buildings: “They are very muscular and everything is perhaps bigger than it needs to be, and for that reason I feel that brutalism is a modern take on gothic architecture… Both were designed from the inside out – the purpose of the building and what happens inside is the important part – the outside is merely the envelope that wraps it up.” Opened in the late 1960s as an addition to the existing Southbank Centre, the whole area is a brutalist London architecture and art space with various connecting concrete walkways and catacombs. As such, things like lift shafts, ventilation ducts, staircases – even boiler rooms, were integrated into the fabric of the building in ways that celebrated them as distinct features rather than hidden away.

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The architectural experiment, the result of noble minds wanting to do rational noble things, broke on the fact that the ultimate local authority patrons of the experiment lost interest because of political, social, economic and cultural pressures out of their control. It’s no surprise that the building itself is unashamedly grand, ornamented with a complex layering of concrete that reveals itself in stages. Alexandra Road EstateA (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). The Grade I listed building overlooks leafy Regent’s Park and sits amidst the area’s palatial Regency architecture, somehow managing to be sympathetic to both whilst also standing out as a modernist masterpiece in its own right. The Standard Comprising over 500 apartments in two low rise parallel sections, the brutalist London Alexandra and Ainsworth estate was completed in the late 1970s. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.

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By the time the recreation centre was completed the cost of the project had spiralled out of all control, ballooning to a massive 12 times more than was initially planned. In spite of all that Brixton got a rec centre and we got another slice of brutalist architecture – one that is today, Grade II listed. 78 South Hill Park Brutalism wasn’t just used for high-rises, though. With the Alexandra Road estate, completed in 1978, architect Neave Brown saw the architectural style as a way to construct a modernist vision of a terraced street. Its architectural merits – although chastised for its expense during the time of construction – was recognised early, becoming the first post-war council estate to be listed in 1993. As was the case with its high-rise cousins, the flats in the Alexandra Road estate were designed to be egalitarian, a notion that holds true with the majority of Brutalist housing. The Art Gallery is located on Level 3 and can be accessed by stairs and lifts from Level G or via the Sculpture Court if coming from outside. Toby Bricheno– fantastic article on London’s Top Brutalist Buildings https://londonist.com/2012/05/londons-top-brutalist-buildings.php There has been a shift in attitude towards the architectural style of Brutalism. Buildings once dismissed as ugly have now found themselves the objects of new found affection.

As it goes, the architect behind the project, Brian Housden had gone to visit influential Dutch designer Gerrit Rietveld. It seems Housden was somewhat in awe of the Dutch master as when Rietveld asked him to see designs for his Hampstead house, Housden became shy and ashamed of his work.