Brutalist London Map

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It was developed from designs by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. Intended to help boost the number of people able to actually live within the City of London and regenerate Cripplegate – an area devastated in World War II, it opened to significant acclaim in 1982. The Southbank Centre has been controversial since it opened, much loved and much maligned. Likened to a ‘nuclear power station’ by Prince Charles, it is a vast concrete structure with tiered volumes that step down towards the Thames. The neighbouring National Theatre, with its monumental inner volumes, houses three theatre stages, as well as interior communal spaces that Lasdun described as his ‘fourth theatre.’ It is surrounded by several generous public terraces. We took far too many photos than anyone could possibly need, and of too many buildings to list them all. So, instead, and with reluctance, I am going to whittle it down to some of our favourite modernist and brutalist structures from that period. Intended to provide solutions to the city’s housing problem, the Brutalist movement was strongly guided by socialist ideology. Its buildings focus on communal areas, and seek to provide equal units of space to its users. Many of Brutalism’s leading architects, including Erno Goldfinger and Alison and Peter Smithson, believed they were creating revolutionary urban utopias.

Hampstead isn’t all rolling heaths and quaint, cottage feels. It’s also home to a brutalist building with quite an origin story… If you want to find out more about some of the buildings featured above, some good starting points include the following;

Calder is an art historian, and came to his subject via studies of medieval churches and 18th-century country houses. He describes himself as a nice middle-class boy brought up to like the sort of Edwardian terraces in which he was raised and to deplore the aggressive, stained concrete monstrosities known as brutalist. Now, he claims, he believes brutalism to be “the high point of architecture in the entire history of humanity… one of the greatest ever flowerings of human creativity and ingenuity”.

And so, equipped with both, we embarked on our exploration to discover what this new guide might teach us. For this is a map with a mission statement, as Henrietta Billings of the Twentieth Century Society states on the reverse, ‘designed to affirm the value of these buildings and to inspire further consideration of Brutalist architecture today’. And herein lies something of a paradox between its didactic – even political – aims and its aestheticisation of London’s concrete behemoths, one that the walking tour perhaps allows us to bridge. The way in which Brutalism emphasized the physical properties of building materials represented an update on Louis H. Sullivan's famous 'form follows function' maxim, which had inspired an earlier wave of modernist architecture culminating in the International Style. But whereas International Style often favored a sleek, streamlined efficiency of construction - doing the most with the least - Brutalism was more likely to emphasize the brash abundance of its materials, drawing attention to the weight, density, and mass of concrete, steel, and stone. In the United States from 1962 to 1976 Brutalism was a popular style, employed not only for academic buildings but also for libraries, government buildings, churches, and corporate headquarters: particularly those of scientific and technology companies. Several well-known international architects were commissioned to design buildings in East Coast cities, as evidenced by Le Corbusier's role, alongside Oscar Niemeyer, Wallace Harrison, and Max Abramovitz, in designing the Headquarters of the United Nations (1948-1952) in New York City.The swish Paramount restaurant and bar occupies the top floors and has outstanding views of London. There is also a free viewing gallery. Phone up beforehand (0207 4202900) to let them know that you’re coming.

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. Perfect for a walking tour or framing, this map is printed on Cyclus Offset 140 gsm, measures 420mm x 600mm (slightly larger than A2) open and folds down to 210mm x 150mm (slightly larger than A5). The map is protected by a wide band. In the end Calder’s main interest in the buildings is as fascinating objects of art history, updates of those churches and palaces with which he started. It makes the book an engaging and accessible guide for those drawn towards these ex-monstrosities, and for those who wonder what it’s all about. Warning that ‘many [Brutalist buildings] remain undervalued and under threat’, the map forces us to confront the fact that a disproportionate number of Brutalist structures were publicly funded, and are now threatened by spending cuts and a political consensus that doubts the value of 20th-century architecture. Soon the true value of this map may be found in its simple act of documentation. With several structures on the map having been rejected for listing or undergoing regeneration, this might truly be a ‘last chance to see’ tour. This ‘exhibition’ notion is perhaps problematic, for it exoticises these buildings and is in danger of subjecting people in precarious political and social situations to cultural tourism. The Alexandra Road Estate winds alongside Camden’s railway line, a swooping swish of striking architecture and intricate design that reflects Brutalism’s utopian vision.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. Though it might not be as well-known as Lasdun’s Brutalist masterpiece, The National Theatre, his design for the Royal College of Physicians is one you should see nonetheless.