Our admiration for all things concrete is part of our DNA, so when we found out about fine art photographer Simon Phipps’ new book on brutalist architecture, we were rubbing our hands together in glee; and when the book reached our offices, it did not disappoint.
Filled with Phipps’ distinctive photographic compositions, this is a richly produced tome. The photographer spent more than 20 years, documenting brutalist architecture in Britain, creating a hefty archive of about 125 buildings. The book features some 200 takes of those, making for an impressive collection to reference and savour.
Yet if you think that this is all about aesthetics, think again. Phipps, in effect, follows through his lens the rebuilding of Britain after World War II. His numerous photographs of Brutalist masterpieces not only appeal to the eye and refined tastes, but also ‘recognises the architects’ enormous contribution to the transformation of the political and social landscape of the country’ in the aftermath of the war, explain the publishers.
Travelling north and south, east and west, the book includes Phipps’ imagery on dramatic structures, such as the Barbican Estate in London (1965-1976), by architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon; Trinity Square Car Park in Gateshead (1962-1967), by Rodney Gordon for the Owen Luder Partnership; the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool, by Frederick Gibberd (1962-67); and the Queen Margaret Union at the University of Glasgow, by Walter Underwood & Partners (1968).
Phipps’ Finding Brutalism photographic survey, which was also presented in a namesake exhibition at the Museum in Bellpark, Kriens, Switzerland earlier this autumn, is now available from Park Books.
The front cover of Finding Brutalism published by Park Books
The National Theatre at South Bank, London (1967-76) by Denys Lasdun. Photography: Simon Phipps, Courtesy Museum im Bellpark
Aintree Estate (1962-1967) by LCC Architects’ Department. Photography: Simon Phipps, Courtesy Museum im Bellpark
Earlstoke Estate in London (1972–1976) by Renton Howard Wood Levin Partnership for GLC. Photography: Simon Phipps, Courtesy Museum im Bellpark
The Chapel at Churchill College in Cambridge (1967) by architects Sheppard Robson. Photography: Simon Phipps, Courtesy Museum im Bellpark
Balfron Tower on the Brownfield Estate in London (1965-1967) by Ernő Goldfinger. Photography: Simon Phipps, Courtesy Museum im Bellpark
The University of East Anglia in Norwich (1962–68) by Denys Lasdun (lef) and the Apollo Pavillion in Peterlee (1969) by Victor Pasmore (right). Photography: Simon Phipps, Courtesy Museum im Bellpark
INFORMATION
Finding Brutalism: A Photographic Survey of Post-War British Architecture, €38, published by Park Books
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper editors have been doing this weekA week of jetsetting has seen the editors in Tokyo, Milan, Vienna, Miami, New York and drinking Guinness with Jonathan Anderson in London
-
The Living Places experiment: how can architecture foster future wellbeing?Research initiative Living Places Copenhagen tests ideas around internal comfort and sustainable architecture standards to push the envelope on how contemporary homes and cities can be designed with wellness at their heart
-
Turin’s Museo Egizio gets an OMA makeover for its bicentenaryThe Gallery of the Kings at Turin’s Museo Egizio has been inaugurated after being remodelled by OMA, in collaboration with Andrea Tabocchini Architecture
-
Meet Scotland's best new building: The Burrell Collection wins Doolan 2024The Doolan 2024 award crowns The Burrell Collection in Glasgow as Scotland's finest building this year, celebrating its comprehensive recent refurbishment
-
‘Concrete Dreams’: rethinking Newcastle’s brutalist pastA new project and exhibition at the Farrell Centre in Newcastle revisits the radical urban ideas that changed Tyneside in the 1960s and 1970s
-
Explore a barn conversion with a difference on the Isle of WightGianni Botsford Architects' barn conversion transforms two old farm buildings into an atmospheric residence and artistic retreat, The Old Byre
-
Capability House blends contemporary architecture and historical landscape in rural EnglandCapability House is a modern retreat by Dedraft set in the historical landscape of green, Capability Brown-designed grounds in rural England's Aynhoe Park Estate
-
Soviet brutalist architecture: beyond the genre's striking imageSoviet brutalist architecture offers eye-catching imagery; we delve into the genre’s daring concepts and look beyond its buildings’ photogenic richness
-
Is Rochester Street Office a creative worker’s dream? Inside a Sydney workspace echoing calmness and lightRochester Street Office by Allied_Office merges utilitarian design with cascading vegetation, presenting a thriving environment for creativity and collaboration
-
A Peckham house design unlocks a spatial puzzle in south LondonAudacious details, subtle colours and a product designer for a client make this Peckham house conversion a unique spatial experience
-
Squire & Partners' radical restructure: 'There are a lot of different ways up the firm to partnership'Squire & Partners announces a radical restructure; we talk to the late founder Michael Squire's son, senior partner Henry Squire, about the practice's new senior leadership group, its next steps and how architecture can move on from 'single leader culture'
