European Media

  20 Bedford Way  Brutalism in the Heart of Bloomsbury © Daren Frankish. All rights reserved. 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. © Daren Frankish. All rights reserved. Brutalism in Bloomsbury What makes 20 Bedford Way particularly interesting is its location. Bloomsbury is an area most people a...

The National Theatre  London's Brutalist Stage © Daren Frankish. All rights reserved. Standing on London's South Bank, surrounded by some of the capital's most famous landmarks, the National Theatre is a building that certainly doesn't try to blend quietly into the background. It is big, grey, complicated and unmistakably Brutalist. And I think it is fantastic. The National Theatre is one of those buildings that seems to change every time you walk around it. From one direction it looks like an enormous concrete fortress. Walk a little further and the whole thing breaks apart into terraces, towers, staircases and horizontal layers. It is difficult to take in with one photograph. Perhaps that is exactly what its architect, Sir Denys Lasdun, wanted. The building was designed during the 1960s and constructed between 1969 and 1976. Today it is recognised as one of the most important post-war public buildings in Britain and has Grade II* listed status. © Daren Frankish. All r...

  Trellick Tower  London's Brutalist Giant © Daren Frankish. All rights reserved. There are some buildings in London that you simply cannot ignore, and Trellick Tower is certainly one of them. Rising above the streets of North Kensington, its unmistakable concrete profile can be seen from quite some distance. It is tall, uncompromising and, depending on your opinion of Brutalist architecture, either magnificent or absolutely dreadful. Personally, I think it is magnificent. Trellick Tower is one of those buildings that becomes more interesting the closer you get to it. Photographs show the famous outline, but standing underneath it gives you a completely different appreciation of just how enormous the building actually is. Designed by the Hungarian-born architect Ernő Goldfinger for the Greater London Council, Trellick Tower was completed in 1972. At 31 storeys high, it became one of the most distinctive examples of post-war social housing in Britain. Today it is also one of Lo...

  The Barbican Centre  Brutalism on a Monumental Scale © Daren Frankish. All rights reserved. There are certain buildings that you can look at in a photograph and immediately recognise, and the Barbican Centre in London is certainly one of them. Concrete, enormous columns, raised walkways, dark passages, unexpected gardens and buildings that seem to disappear into one another – the Barbican is a place that really needs to be explored on foot to appreciate just how ambitious it is. For anyone interested in Brutalist architecture, it is difficult to think of many places in Britain quite like it. The Barbican was designed by architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon as part of the much larger Barbican Estate. What they created wasn't simply another housing development or arts centre. Their intention was effectively to build a new piece of London – a self-contained community where people could live, walk, relax and enjoy culture without the motor car dominating everything around them....