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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 1:20:54 GMT
I mean no one would want to live in Luton over Bath say would they, unless they had a very good reason for doing so. But that's because of the historic capital that's been invested in a place like Bath over Luton which enabled Bath to build civic architecture on a grand scale much earlier and much more sustainably than industrial towns. It's not wholly or even mostly the fault of the architectural style for its poor maintenance and reputation. From the towns and cities I grew up in there are so many examples of pre-war architecture that's become decrepit, unmanageable and left to rot just like the brutalism has. It's the latter however which has built up such a bad reputation that people want to throw the baby from the bathwater and knock down some really fine and beautiful buildings in that style. That's a good point, but rather ignores the elephant in the room that Luton, like a lot of towns in the south and the midlands ( the north was a bit less affected, probably because the developers were putting all their money in the south) underwent massive post-war redevelopment and it was not well done at all. The result was ugly and drab - we are not talking innovative modernist architecture here.
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Post by Inspector Norse on Mar 20, 2019 8:00:44 GMT
Glad to see some people share my views on this stuff. It's awfully trendy and yeah individual buildings can look great in photos, but in reality they can often be these awkward, dirty lumps of concrete. The Swedish suburbs are full of these awful "modernist functionalist" buildings from the '60s which were built as part of a big drive to build affordable housing for all. Characterless identikit blocks that were quickly abandoned to the poor and immigrants, so those areas are now largely seen as the least desirable, although of course there are those who are trying to make it fashionable again.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 20, 2019 10:29:57 GMT
This seems to have turned into 'it's horrible to live in a tower block'. Shame.
Has anyone been to the Barbican Centre?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 10:33:06 GMT
This seems to have turned into 'it's horrible to live in a tower block'. Shame. Has anyone been to the Barbican Centre? Of course, but architecturally it's not particularly interesting. It's difficult to find good examples of this sort of stuff in Britain, but I'd say The South Bank Centre is one. It works because it occupies such a vast space, so its monumentalism becomes impressive rather than oppressive. Struggling to find a picture that will load though.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 20, 2019 10:38:40 GMT
This seems to have turned into 'it's horrible to live in a tower block'. Shame. Has anyone been to the Barbican Centre? Of course, but architecturally it's not particularly interesting. It's difficult to find good examples of this sort of stuff in Britain yes but you'd prefer to live among ferns and squirrels
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 10:43:30 GMT
I'm not against brutalist styles in design at all. I like some of it (I've sold quite a few pieces of brutalist Sklo Union glass, this was the pressed glass produced in Czechoslovakia after the war which often utilised those brutalist shapes), but the architecture is often contentious. I can tell you're disappointed by the reaction, but the fact is a lot of it really does have detrimental effect on people's spirit.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 20, 2019 10:56:27 GMT
I'm not against brutalist styles in design at all. I like some of it (I've sold quite a few pieces of brutalist Sklo Union glass, this was the pressed glass produced in Czechoslovakia after the war which often utilised those brutalist shapes), but the architecture is often contentious. I can tell you're disappointed by the reaction, but the fact is a lot of it really does have detrimental effect on people's spirit.
I agree. As one offs I really like some of this stuff. There are some spectacular examples across the world but the kind of buildings designed for people to actually live in has done damage in this country. It’s the whole surrounded by ugliness thing, isn’t it? I’ve long believed such buildings have contributed to anti-social behaviour and a sapped peoples spirit somehow. There is something quite depressive when you see these giant tower blocks on the landscape, like huge concrete fag packets.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 20, 2019 10:58:27 GMT
I know that, and I know consideration for the welfare of inhabitants is a fundamental part of the architects' job.
Maybe I'm naive, but I just wanted to see more pictures of interesting brutalist buildings!
I'll change the title so it's a more general architecture thread and then people don't have to talk about these oppressive places that have ruined so many lives...
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 20, 2019 12:39:45 GMT
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 20, 2019 12:40:49 GMT
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 20, 2019 12:41:24 GMT
I know that, and I know consideration for the welfare of inhabitants is a fundamental part of the architects' job. Maybe I'm naive, but I just wanted to see more pictures of interesting brutalist buildings! I'll change the title so it's a more general architecture thread and then people don't have to talk about these oppressive places that have ruined so many lives...
The buildings that ruined Britain, John.
I think we can directly blame them for Brexit.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 20, 2019 12:44:44 GMT
Happy now?
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Post by Half Machine Lipschitz on Mar 20, 2019 13:06:07 GMT
Habitat 67 in Montreal is a good example of brutalist architecture done with consideration for its inhabitants. Mind you, it's looking a bit rough around the edges these days, but it's still a desirable address. Then there's the Robart's Library building on the University of Toronto campus that looks like a giant concrete turkey:
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 15:31:21 GMT
But that's because of the historic capital that's been invested in a place like Bath over Luton which enabled Bath to build civic architecture on a grand scale much earlier and much more sustainably than industrial towns. It's not wholly or even mostly the fault of the architectural style for its poor maintenance and reputation. From the towns and cities I grew up in there are so many examples of pre-war architecture that's become decrepit, unmanageable and left to rot just like the brutalism has. It's the latter however which has built up such a bad reputation that people want to throw the baby from the bathwater and knock down some really fine and beautiful buildings in that style. That's a good point, but rather ignores the elephant in the room that Luton, like a lot of towns in the south and the midlands ( the north was a bit less affected, probably because the developers were putting all their money in the south) underwent massive post-war redevelopment and it was not well done at all. The result was ugly and drab - we are not talking innovative modernist architecture here. Much of it was done on the cheap without suitable long term thinking, yes, that's partly the point I was getting at as well (in the main because of the massive post war demand which needed to be met immediately). But there can still be a few gems in such towns which deserve praise and conservation and not just blanket condemnation. Here's some examples from near me that I love. Pasmore's Apollo Pavilion in the new Durham town of Peterlee. This was once controversial and the local council initially refused to give it listed status before listening to local groups who had been trying to protect it. Basil Spence's Civic Centre in Sunderland. This is still controversial -- mostly because of the legacy of post war urban strategies and the short lived Tory council in the 50s demolishing the original town hall -- but I've never understood the dislike. It's a museum of stairs and hexagons.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 20, 2019 15:37:38 GMT
Happy now? It took us almost two pages, but....yeah, happy enough. Not sure what that image is supposed to be tho' D...
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