JO UNDERHILL / STRUCTURALEYE

I have wanted to visit and add some brutalist playgrounds to my Beautiful Brutalism project for a long time. I remember playing on a concrete tube we called 'the saddle' at my old primary school and loved it. So have fond memories of these concrete playgrounds.
Unfortunately not many have survived but last November I researched and visited a playground that was still standing down in South Clapham beneath Belgravia House tower block. This was a fantastic playground with a spiral slide and tunnels to run through the hill that housed the slide. It was great to see the playground was well maintained and looked like it was still used. I couldn't resist and have to say the slide was fantastic!



The whole project can be seen here.

Then earlier this year I visited the Aintree Estate playground in Fulham. The two tower blocks, Hartopp Point and Lannoy Point are due to be demolished this year so wanted to visit before access was difficult and the area the playground is situated in …

Lovely to see my National Theatre photographs from my ongoing Beautiful Brutalism project featured on Divisare's January 17th journal and also featured in their Concrete Expressions collection.

Divisare is a wonderful collection of architecture from all over the world with a focus on architectural photography and well worth checking out.

The whole project on Divisare can be seen here.

Last month I photographed a beautiful attic extension designed by Coppin Dockray Architects and styled by Charlotte Buccerio.
We wanted to focus on the materials used, texture, colour and the gorgeous light that filled the space in the morning and evening. To view the whole project please visit - structuraleye.

The Lookout is a new cafe, hide and facilities situated behind Holkham Beach, North Norfolk. It sits beautifully within the landscape of Holkham which includes sand dunes, pine forests and looks out to a beautiful nature reserve. It is a cylindrical form with the outer screen of fins made from Larch. It was a beautiful structure to photograph and I wanted to highlight the conversation it has with the landscape and those big skies of North Norfolk.

It was designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Lucas+Western Architects. The whole project can be seen at structuraleye.

The little known Brutalist gem the Spiritualist Church, Brighton was built in 1965 and designed by Bev Pike of Overton & Partners Architects. It was a beautiful building to photograph and the church very kindly gave me permission to photograph inside which was fascinating. It consists of kidney and oval shaped sections connected by a lower rectangle corridor which forms the main entrance. There are no windows at the front so light is drawn into the two halls by skylights. There was a vast library of books on mediumships and seances which I have always been fascinated with. The building is a great addition to my Beautiful Brutalism project.

To view the whole project please visit structuraleye.

I recently photographed the beautiful new exhibition by ceramicist Jennifer Lee at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge. It is her first UK show since 1994 and it shows work spanning 40 years. The exhibition was designed by Jamie Fobert Architects and after several visits to Lee's studio they decided the space of the studio should also be shown in the exhibition. They decided a single surface the exact height of Jennifer's workbench would be 'a powerful yet minimal response.'

To learn more about the inspiration behind the design of the exhibition please visit Jamie Fobert's website.


To view the whole project please visit my website.