Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London

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Architecture of Doom– Photographer Weronika Dudka shares stunning images with handy alphabetical indexing.

Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London

Brutal London by Zupagrafika is a playful journey through London´s brutalist architecture that allows the readers to construct some of the most interesting and controversial concrete structures while learning about their place in the city´s architectural history. For example you can walk from the Hayward Gallery to the Southbank Market directly via a series of interconnecting landings and stairs. Brutal Beauty champions Dubuffet’s rebellious philosophy. Railing against conventional ideas of beauty, he tried to capture the poetry of everyday life in a gritty, more authentic way. This is the first major survey of his work in the UK for 50 years, showcasing four decades of his career, from early portraits and fantastical statues, to butterfly assemblages and giant colourful canvases. Dubuffet endlessly experimented and was clear on his purpose:We move out to London zone 5 for the ‘Number 1’ Croydon Brutalist building (not our ranking, but its actual title!). A (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). During the summer months, there is a rather nice roof garden here too – the Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden and Cafe / Bar (just look for the brightly coloured luminous yellow concrete steps going up – very easy to spot!). How to get to Royal Festival Hall Of course, not all brutalist architecture is doomed, with some celebrated more than others. The Southbank Centre complex, including the Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Royal Festival Hall, and the adjacent National Theatre are marvels of engineering that have become icons of the city, both architecturally and culturally where they play host to numerous plays, shows and exhibitions every year.

London, 10 Brutalist Buildings + Map Brutalist Architecture London, 10 Brutalist Buildings + Map

In general (with a few exceptions) this was public sector architecture, fruitfully competing with the equally important Scandinavian 'social democrat' model. It died with the death of corporatist Britain, the rise of private sector Britain and the sell-off of social housing under Thatcherism. 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. The Standard has modernised the property, adding a glass-heavy rooftop extension and, ingeniously, a red pill-like exterior lift, and it works. The building still stands, the additions respect its original form and a piece of the 1970s is elegantly brought into the 21st century. Richard Seifart wielded unmatched influence over the London skyline – but not everyone loves the results. Take Centre Point as an example – unveiled in 1966, it was one of the tallest buildings in London… and one of its most hated.One has to be pessimistic at so many levels. The reliance is likely to remain on a market that cannot deliver the subsidised mass solutions to the misery of homelessness and of young people not being able to start families (alongside yet more migrants making the problems worse). Weston Rise. Picture: Simon Phipps / Extracted from Brutal London by Simon Phipps. (Image: Archant) The book is based on the original Brutal London series of illustrated paper cut-outs first designed and published by Zupagrafika in 2015. At their best, these projects were never rabbit hutches but integrated into the environment with space to play for children, greenery and community facilities built into the design. Of course, the most magnificent still stands as a rich man's version - the City of London's Barbican, a model of its type.