London is Brutal
September in London is centred on design. London Fashion Week, London Design Festival, and Open House London, all taking place this month, serve as a reminder of the selcouth talent and beauty which animates this city’s creative scene. Each year provides an opportunity to examine, appreciate, and appraise the design and architecture that helps to shape our environment into the world's leading creative capital.
This year is no different, with an illustrious schedule characterising each festival. This said, it is the distinctive National Trust and Southbank Centre collaboration, Brutal Utopia, that we find to be particularly noteworthy. To coincide with the closure of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, and Hayward Gallery for repair and refurbishment, the organisations have coalesced their considerable creative talents to celebrate London’s Brutalist architecture. This partnership has taken the city through the looking glass, shining a light on the elysian formations that usually remain secondary to the life they encompass.
London is adorned with many Brutalist masterpieces. Love it or hate it — this style is intrinsically linked to Britain, with English architect Alison Smithson first utilising it as a written word in 1952. Our city's material terrain is diffused with rough unfinished surfaces, singular forms, and tactual raw concrete. Following is a modest annotation to some of London's fine Brutalist lineage.
The majority will be opening their doors in association with Brutal Utopia or Open-house.
Check out the links below to find out more.
Image credits: Andy Spain