20 Bedford Way | Brutalism in the Heart of Bloomsbury
20 Bedford Way
Brutalism in the Heart of Bloomsbury
London has some wonderful examples of Brutalist architecture, but one building that doesn't always receive the attention it deserves is 20 Bedford Way.
Standing in Bloomsbury, right in the middle of London's university district, this enormous concrete building is the home of the UCL Institute of Education.
It was designed by Sir Denys Lasdun, the same architect responsible for the National Theatre on London's South Bank, and once you know that, the similarities become quite obvious.
Huge areas of exposed concrete, deeply recessed sections, massive stair towers and strong horizontal lines immediately give the building that unmistakable Lasdun appearance.
It certainly isn't subtle.
And that is exactly why I like it.
Brutalism in Bloomsbury
What makes 20 Bedford Way particularly interesting is its location.
Bloomsbury is an area most people associate with Georgian squares, terraces, universities, museums and some of London's more traditional architecture.
Then you suddenly find this.
A huge piece of post-war Modernism sitting amongst it all.
Lasdun was commissioned by the University of London in 1960 to develop plans for new university buildings along Bedford Way. His challenge was to create something modern while working within an area already defined by its historic squares and terraces.
Rather than attempting to imitate the older buildings, Lasdun did something completely different.
He designed something unmistakably of its time.
Construction of the Institute of Education building took place during the 1970s and the main building was completed in 1975. The Institute moved into its new home that year, although it was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, on 8 December 1977.
More than fifty years later, it still looks remarkably bold.
Sir Denys Lasdun
Anyone interested in British Brutalism will eventually come across the name Denys Lasdun.
His National Theatre is probably his best-known building, but 20 Bedford Way deserves just as much attention.
Lasdun had a very particular way of working with concrete.
His buildings weren't simply enormous rectangular blocks.
He played with different levels, projecting sections, towers and what he referred to architecturally as strata – horizontal layers that appear to stretch through a building.
You can see that very clearly at Bedford Way.
Historic England describes the building as a long spinal range, six storeys above ground with three basement levels, incorporating teaching spaces, lecture facilities and other university accommodation.
But those basic facts don't really explain what it feels like to stand in front of it.
It is enormous.
Those Stair Towers
For me, one of the best features of 20 Bedford Way has to be the stair towers.
They are magnificent.
They rise above the rest of the building like enormous concrete sculptures and give Bedford Way much of its character.
There is absolutely no attempt to hide them.
Instead, Lasdun turned something completely functional – a staircase – into one of the most dramatic architectural features of the entire building.
Historic England describes the staircase towers as "massively over-scaled", which is probably about right.
They certainly aren't small.
This is something Brutalist architecture often does brilliantly.
Parts of a building that might normally be hidden away become part of the design.
Stairs, service areas, structural columns and concrete supports are allowed to be seen.
At Bedford Way they almost become the decoration.
Concrete With Character
There is a tendency to describe Brutalist architecture as simply grey concrete.
Stand close to 20 Bedford Way and you realise there is considerably more to it than that.
The concrete has texture.
There are smooth sections, rougher areas, deep shadows and places where the structure changes depending on how the light hits it.
The building also uses bronze-anodised aluminium panels and glazing alongside the reinforced concrete, giving the elevations much more variation than you initially expect. Historic England particularly notes the quality of the finishes and the contrast between the materials.
I think this is one of those buildings that works particularly well in black and white photography.
Take the colour away and you begin concentrating on the shapes.
The staircases become stronger.
The shadows become darker.
The repeating windows and concrete lines become almost abstract.
But give the building a strong blue sky and it works equally well in colour.
Like most Brutalist architecture, light can completely transform it.
An Unfinished Vision
Interestingly, what we see today wasn't everything Lasdun originally intended.
His plans for the Institute of Education were more ambitious, but only part of the original scheme was eventually constructed.
One notable omission was the library wing. The Institute's library remained elsewhere for years before a later extension was completed in the early 1990s. Lasdun's practice returned for that work, extending the complex between 1990 and 1993.
I find things like this fascinating.
When looking at major buildings, it is very easy to assume that what stands in front of you is exactly what the architect originally imagined.
Quite often it isn't.
Money changes.
Requirements change.
Governments change.
Plans get reduced.
Yet even as a partially realised scheme, Bedford Way remains a huge architectural statement.
Inside 20 Bedford Way
The Brutalist character continues once you enter the building.
Concrete remains a major feature, particularly around the circulation spaces and staircases.
One of the most impressive interior areas is the principal staircase leading towards the lecture theatre.
Here enormous columns rise through a deep internal space, with the concrete staircase cutting through it.
Historic England specifically highlights the entrance hall, lift lobbies and principal staircase as areas where the quality of Lasdun's concrete work can be seen particularly well.
Then there is Logan Hall.
Hidden beneath the forecourt, the large lecture theatre is another reminder that much more of Bedford Way exists than you can see from the street.
The building was designed around education rather than simply appearance.
Teaching rooms were intended to be flexible and capable of changing as the requirements of the Institute changed.
That has helped the building remain useful decades after it was constructed.
The Institute of Education
The building itself may be relatively young, but the institution it houses has a much longer history.
The Institute of Education began life in 1902 as the London Day Training College. It later became the Institute of Education and eventually moved permanently to Bedford Way during the 1970s.
In 2014, the Institute merged with University College London and became the UCL Institute of Education.
So although many people interested in architecture know the building simply as 20 Bedford Way, this remains a working university building.
Students walk through it every day.
Lectures take place here.
People work here.
That is something worth remembering when photographing or visiting the building.
It isn't a preserved Brutalist museum.
It is still doing the job it was designed to do.
A Protected Brutalist Landmark
Thankfully, the architectural importance of 20 Bedford Way has been recognised.
The Institute of Education complex was given Grade II* listed status in December 2000.
Grade II* is particularly significant because it is reserved for especially important buildings of more than special interest.
That places Bedford Way amongst a relatively small group of Britain's most significant listed buildings.
And I think it deserves to be there.
There was a period when post-war architecture wasn't particularly fashionable.
Concrete buildings were regularly dismissed as ugly, outdated or simply something waiting to be demolished.
Some disappeared before anybody thought seriously about protecting them.
Attitudes have changed considerably.
Today buildings by architects such as Lasdun are being looked at again, photographed, studied and appreciated by a completely new generation.
Photographing 20 Bedford Way
From a photographic point of view, there is plenty to work with here.
The stair towers are obviously the stars.
Move around them and their appearance changes completely.
From one angle they appear almost impossibly thin.
From another they become enormous walls of concrete.
Then there are the repeating windows, the recessed ground levels, the columns and the strong horizontal lines running through the building.
It is worth getting close.
Really close.
Some of the most interesting photographs aren't necessarily pictures of the entire building.
A staircase against the sky can be enough.
A section of concrete.
A shadow.
A row of windows.
That is the beauty of buildings like Bedford Way.
There is always another photograph somewhere.
Final Thoughts
20 Bedford Way isn't as famous as the Barbican.
It doesn't have the instantly recognisable silhouette of Trellick Tower.
And it doesn't attract the crowds that walk past Lasdun's National Theatre every day on the South Bank.
But perhaps that makes it even more interesting.
Here, in the middle of Bloomsbury, is an enormous piece of British Brutalism that is still being used for exactly the sort of purpose it was built for half a century ago.
It is bold.
It is complicated.
It is unapologetically concrete.
And those stair towers are absolutely wonderful.
For anyone interested in Brutalist architecture, 20 Bedford Way is well worth taking the time to explore.
It is another reminder of an extraordinary period in British architecture when architects were prepared to think big, experiment with materials and create buildings with genuine personality.
You certainly couldn't describe 20 Bedford Way as boring.
And London would be a much less interesting city without buildings like it.
By Daren Frankish
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