Back to Brutalism

After a few months away from my Beautiful Brutalism project it was lovely to have a few days to work on it again and set up two more shoots. The first building I photographed was the Royal College of Physicians, London designed by Denys Lasdun in 1959. The building has a more classical feel then his most notable design, The National Theatre on the Southbank but still has those lovely angles and simple lines which I enjoy photographing.

The next building I wanted to add to my project is a smaller and less well known brutalist structure, Welbeck Street Car Park in Central London. Built in 1970 by Michael Blampied it is a real gem. With it's interlocking diamond-shaped concrete panels it definitely makes a statement, in an era when even a simple car park was well designed and didn't just blend into the urban landscape it still looks amazing.

To view the rest of the images and my project so far please visit my website.

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Photography of Ceramicist Jane Cairns

Back in April I had the pleasure of photographing ceramicist Jane Cairns in her studio situated by the Thames in London. It was great to spend the day with Jane and get shown the places she visits along the edge of the Thames which gives her inspiration for her work. It was lovely to see my images being used in her latest newsletter, which can be seen here .

Concrete Cambridge

Over the last few months I have been adding a few colleges in Cambridge to my Beautiful Brutalism project. Many new college buildings that were being built from the late 50's to 70's embraced contemporary architecture of concrete, steel and brick and many leading architects of the era were commissioned to design these new buildings. New Court, Christ's College and Fitzwilliam College by Denys Lasdun, George Thomson Building of Corpus Christi College by Philip Dowson of Arup and the History Faculty by James Stirling to name a few. I photographed the two Lasdun designed buildings late last year. New Court, Christ's College, 1970, has an amazing steeped slope of the students rooms with a terrace running through the middle. The rooms all have large windows that allow light to flood in and the use of exposed reinforced concrete is beautiful. Fitzwilliam College, 1964, has a very distinctive shell-vault like roof on the dining hall which is visible from the str...

New Article as Concrete Correspondence - Umbrella Magazine

In my second article as concrete correspondent for Umbrella Magazine I talk about photographing the little known brutalist gem of the Spiritualist Church, Brighton. An unusual designed building that really stands out, it was great to photograph and the church very kindly gave me permission to document the interior which is rarely seen. The full article and more photographs of this unique church can be seen here . The next column will be out next year!

JO UNDERHILL / STRUCTURALEYE

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