Final dissertation for hand in george fisher

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L

E H AT

LOVE

RETROFIT Unpicking the Brutalist Renaissance in Britain p2

George Fisher 130148715 2

Contents

Introduction

1-4

LOATHE

5

Concrete Failures

7-16

Politics

17-20

Conser vation Against Brutalism

21-30

LOVE

25

Fashion

27-30

Community Intervention

31-34

A New Perspective On Brutalism

35-38

RETROFIT

39-44

Conclusion

45-46

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S U O R T S N O M

OPRESSIVE

INTIMIDATING

AN M HU IN

CRUDE

B R U T A L I S M I S .....

B R U T A LPOETIC I S M I S .....

BO LD

INVENTIVE CEFUL RESOUR

BRAVE

HONEST

BEAUTIFUL 1

Introduction Brutalism is controversial; a catalogue of contradictions. its built form demands an emotional response and promotes discussion.

Brutalism is bold, brave, poetic, AGRESSIVE kinetic, honest, monumental, moving, stricking, inventive, resourceful, and unapologetic.

Brutalism is ugly, oppressive, aggressive, mean, crude ,intimidating, inhumane, and monstrous.

UGLY MEAN

Introduction

Brutalism controversial; catalogue There has is been a change a in the UK’s of contradictions. its built form de opinion towards Brutalist architecture, mands an emotional response and from loathing to love. The transition topromotes discussion. wards this Brutalist renaissance has been gradual and the reasons for this shift are There has been a changeIninorder the UK’s neither clear or explicit. to unopinion towards Brutalist architecture, derstand the disorientating changes in from loathing love.

This transition public opinion toand the consequences, towards this Brutalist renaissance this special study will be structuredhas into been gradual and the reasons for this three sections: loathe, love and retrofit. shift clear or explicit.

In As willare be neither outlined in this study, Brutalorder to understand the disorientating ism’s significance and merits lie hidden changes public opinion and they the conbehind itsincold, austere form; are sequences , this special study will embedded in the lessons learnt from be its structured into three sections: failures, in collective nostalgia loathe, and its love and retrofit.

As will be outlined lasting legacy, as evidenced by its conin thisuse study, Brutalism’s significance tinual today.

This British Brutalist re and merits hidden behind its cold, naissance is lie a ver y recent phenomenon austere form; they are embedded in the which is yet to have been explored in lessons learnt from its failures, in colsignificant detail. Despite this Barnabas lective and its lasting legacy, Calder ’s nostalgia Raw Concrete book is being re st as evidenced by its continual use today. leased on the 21 April 2016, just ten This after Britishthe Brutalist renaissance is athis days submission date for ver y recent phenomina which is yet to special study, and seeks to explore why have been explored in significant British Brutalism has been so vilifieddetail. and Despite this Barnabas Calder ’s Raw why it is beginning to be loved. InterConcrete is being released on the views with book Barnabas Calder and Historic st 21 April 2016, just ten days after the England’s historian Elain Har wood, along submission date for this special with extensive reading into historstudy, y, poliand seeks to explore why British tics and architectural case studiesBrutalhave ism hasthe been so vilified why itstudy. is formed basis for thisand special beginning to be loved. Inter views with Barnabas Calder and Historic England’s historian Elain Har wood, along with ex-2 tensive reading into histor y, politics and

In order to discuss this British Brutalist renaissance we must first define and understand Brutalism in its architectural context. architectural case studies have formed the basis for this special study. In order Definition/ history to discuss this U.K Brutalist renaissance we must first definea and understand Brutalism describes building typology Brutalism in its architectural predominately used between context.

1945 and 1975, a style that has complete omisDefinition/ histor ymimicr y and creates sion of classical Brutalism describes a building typology ornament through boisterous volumes predominately used between 1945 and and exposure of raw material.

Brutalism 1975,asa style that hastocomplete omisarose a challenge the bourgeoisie sion of classical mimicr y and creates pomposity of 1930s modernism, an atornament through boisterous volumes tempt to formally express the idea of a and socialist exposureUtopia. of raw With material.

Brutalism new no particular arose as atochallenge to the bourgeoisie reference its surroundings this was a pomposity of 1930s modernism, an atstyle that could be adopted internationtempt to formally express the idea of to a ally, bypassing any local vernaculars new socialist Utopia.

With no particular create a neo-vernacular. The word ‘brureference its same surroundings this Swedwas a tal’ is spelttothe in German, style that could be adopted ish, Danish, Spanish, French, internationNor wegian ally,Portuguese. bypassing any local to and With anvernaculars international create a neo-vernacular.

The word ‘bruname and style it was easily adoptable tal’ is spelt Europe. the sameIt’s in completely German, Swedthroughout nonish, Danish,aesthetic Spanish, is French, wegian contextual what Nor promotes and Portuguese. an international such controversy,With as Jonathan Meades name and style it was easily adoptable asks: throughout Europe. It’s completely noncontextual aesthetic is what ‘ What is it about Concrete thatpromotes promotes such controversy, as Jonathan Meades such derisions, such anima, such loathasks: ‘ What is it about Concrete that ing- its aggression, its candour, its arro1 promotes such art..’? derisions, such anima, gance, its sheer such loathing- its aggression, its canits sheer art..’? 1 Itare Itdour, can its be arrogance, argued that nightmares can be argued that nightmares are more 1 Jonathan Meades :: Bunkers Brutalism and Bloodymindedcaptivating dreams, and ness Concrete Poetry.than (2015).sweet [DVD] Great Britain: Francis Hanly. whether you like it or not the sight of a true monumental Brutalist building will stay with you more than the apologetic.

The first time the world heard the word

that allowed the building to be visually understood through its raw construction material. Banham also gives three main criterion for Brutalism architecture; 1- Memorability as an image (affecting emotions), 2- clear exhibition of structure (relationship of parts) and 3- Valuation of materials ‘ as found’ (raw materials. For the purpose of this study I will be looking at Brutalism in regards to the use of exposed concrete.

more captivating than sweet dreams, and whether you like it or not the sight of a true monumental Brutalist building will stay with you more than the apologetic.

The first time the world heard the word ‘Brutalism’ was through the coinage ‘New Brutalism’. It seems unclear who first introduced this term into the design world, Swedish architect Hans Asplund in a 1956 Architectural Review article claims to have used it in a conversation in 1950, but its first written usage was by the Smithsons in 1952.

‘Necessity is merely the adoptive mother of invention; war is the birthmother ’ 4 The scale of destruction in Britain after World War Two was vast: ‘some 200,000 houses were lost in Britain during the war; another 250,000 were rendered uninhabitable and three million needed repair ’ 5 . Concrete was effective, cheap and quick to use, therefore it quickly became a tool for state led reconstruction. As a result, Brutalism became mostly associated with Public housing and governmental buildings. Designers and planners turned to a utopian ideal, that projected social stability and a sense of indestructability, something the nation desperately needed.

Although Brutalism is mainly synonymous with large monolithic concrete buildings, the style was conceived in glass and steel with Hunstanton School (figure 1+2)). Reyner Banham, one of Brutalism’s strongest early supporters, defined New Brutalism in his 1955 Architectural Review essay ‘ The New Brutalism’.

Here he stated that ‘Hunstanton, and the house in Soho, can ser ve as the points of architectural reference by which The New Brutalism in architecture may be defined’ 2 . Both these buildings were designed by Peter and Alison Smithson, two controversial but ver y influential people in British architecture during the post-war period. ‘Hunstanton appears to be made of glass, brick, steel and concrete, and is in fact made of glass, brick, steel and concrete.. One can see what Hunstanton is made of, and how it works’ 3 . Brutalism is about the use of materials ‘as found’, an architectural honesty

F1 Hunstanton school.

F2 Hunstanton school

3

2 Banham, R. (1955). The New Brutalism. Architectural Review, 118 (708), p.361 3 Banham, R. (1955). The New Brutalism. Architectural Review, 118 (708), p.361 4 Jonathan Meades :: Bunkers Brutalism and Bloodymindedness Concrete Poetry. (2015). [DVD] Great Britain: Francis Hanly.

5 Har wood, E. and Davies, J. (2014). Space, hope, and brutalism. New Haven: Yale University Press, P49

4

LOATHE “In the sixties my buildings were awarded, in the seventies they were applauded, in the eighties they were questioned, in the nineties they were ridiculed, and when we get through to 2000 the ones I like most are the ones that have been demolished.” 6 Owen Luder.

1973

1975

1976

1980

1985

1989

‘Right to buy ’ policy passed

‘Eutopia On Trial’ published

Vision of Britain

1966 Oil Crisis Tricorn built 1968

J.B Ballard Covent garhigh rise den victor y

1972

Ronan Monty Python Point dis- 1971 Episode aster Clock Work Orange ( Brunnel Universiy lecture Centre)

Thatcher comes into power

1978 Originally seen to reflect power ful democratic solidarity, civic pride, utopian ideals, authenticity and directness, the provocative force of Brutalist architecture emerged decades after their creation (predominantly in the 1960s and 1970s) to represent the opposite - hostility, cold-ness and civic decay. This section explores why.

2nd Oil Crisis

Get Carter ( features Trinity square car park ) p2

2

Concrete Failures eventually demolished, to the relief of the locals. .

Corbusier ’s use of ‘Béton Brut’ (bare concrete) was an obvious influence on the Brutalism movement, especially the ‘Unite d’Habitation’, Marseille (figure 3). But British Brutalism could be seen as an example of theoretical design not bearing up under the realities of British weather. Unite d’habitation or the convent at La Tourette looks great in the blue -sky setting of southern France, and with such a climate they take just a modest amount of abuse from the weather.

Britain on the other hand, doesn’t put concrete it its best light. Our grey drear y winters bleach concrete facades, creating a scene of melancholic homogeneity.

F3 Le Corbusier Unite D’habitation

F5 Trinity Square Car Park after years of abuse

F4 Gateshead after completion ( 1969)

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This wasn’t the only Owen Luder Brutalist building to be destroyed. His Tricorn Shopping centre, built in 1966, was de molished in 2004 . The Tricorn was voted Britain’s most ugly building in 2001 and was described by Prince Charles as ‘a mildewed lump of elephant droppings’ 9 . Portsmouth City Council were so happy with the demolition decision that they held a sort of party to signify its destruction, where a member of the Portsmouth city council announced: ‘what this marks is the demise of this monstrosity and the renaissance of the city centre’ 10 .

For example, the 15 stor y giant Trinity square in Gateshead carpark designed

by Owen Luder ( Figure 4 )was a shining beacon for the new futurist way of living when it opened in 1969, with its ‘bé ton’ concrete, stoic mass and monstrous scale. “I went along with Le Corbusier ’s vision of beautifully appointed multistorey houses set in big landscaped open spaces.” 7 although he later declares ‘ We never set out to design Brutalist buildings. We designed them in concrete be cause that’s what was there.. it was difficult to get steel; it was still rationed.’

8 But soon, as the reinforced concrete started to crack and the drip stains started to emerge( figure 5), the raw concrete began to look grim under the relentless grey skies of Gateshead. Vandals made worse this physical decay; in 2010 it was

The Tricorn, like many other post- war buildings, was designed as a labyrinth with many entrances and exits, making it an ideal place for petty crime and muggings. Alice Coleman’s Utopia on trial (1985), Inspired by Oscar Newman’s theories of ‘defensible space’, systematically denounces post war high-rise, and its associated Brutalism, by stating that through ‘creating anonymity, lack 7 Hatherley, O. (2010). Gateshead car park: in praise of Brutalism. Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian. com/commentisfree/2010/jul/27/brutal-unrepentant [Accessed 10 Nov. 2015].

8 Mairs, J. (2014). Brutalist buildings: Trinity Square car park

by Owen Luder. [online] Dezeen. Available at: http://www. dezeen.com/2014/09/14/brutalist-buildings-trinity-square get-car ter-car-park-owen-luder/ [Accessed 20 Jan. 2016].

9 Weaver, M. (2004). Countr y ’s ugliest building to be torn down. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www. theguardian.com/society/2004/mar/10/urbandesign.ar ts [Accessed 3 Dec. 2015].

10 Meridian News, (2004). Tricorn Centre, Por tsmouth UK . [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk850_SrsQ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2015].

8

of sur veillance and escape routes’ 11 it puts temptation in the way of criminals.

Despite this it has been pointed out that the Tricorn was positioned at the wrong end of a minor shopping street, and that the authorities didn’t invest in security and upkeep of the complex. The highly artificial environments of Brutalist architecture require high maintenance; when municipals fell behind vandalism and decay bedded in. For example, the Brutalist Barbican complex finished in 1983 (figure 6) is now one of London’s most prestigious addresses, yet at the same time so many other Brutalist buildings are falling to ruin. The Barbican was built for private housing which provided the money for the upkeep and secured its longevity, whereas the majority of Brutalist buildings were built by the welfare state and failure of the authorities to invest in maintenance has been key to many of Brutalism’s failures and subse quent demonization.

F6 Barbican

F8

architecture stands proud as a beacon of safety and comfort among the unforgivingly cold mountains whose ‘implacable solidity reassures rather than excludes’ 13 .

Perhaps Luder ’s building’s mass, materiality and scale would have worked better in an unforgiving rural environment like the mountains of France, rather than the complexities of urban England.

The Trellick tower designed by Ernö Goldfinger and completed in 1972 soon came to represent all the societal wrongs and degradation that was so often associated with Brutalism- crime, societal decay and squalor. ( Figure 9) . The bulk of the tower houses the 175 apartments and is connected to a secondar y ser vice tower ever y third floor with Corbu inspired ‘streets in the sky ’, with the service tower holding the stairs, lifts and mechanical plant. Despite its good intentions, it was set to fail before it was even finished, as were many other brutalist buildings built at this time. The reasons were contingent on a number of concrete associated events, starting with the ‘Ronan point disaster ’.

Clogs’s Brutailism book argues that ‘ perhaps the real deficiency of Brutalism is simply its existence as a primarily urban phenomenon’ 12 . Using Marcel Breuer ’s French Flaine Ski Resort as a comparison( Figure7+8), its 10 storey beton brut mass appears to grow out of the mountain itself. Unlike most Brutalist architecture that looms above us, one can look down upon the ski resort while skiing, which frees the Brutalism from its usual dystopian associations. In Flaine the Brutalist

The 1968 ‘Ronan point disaster ’ occurred when gas leaked into an 18 th floor apartment; when the kitchen hob was lit, it

11 Coleman, A. (1985). Utopia on trial. London: H. Shipman, p186 12 May, K. and Hout, J. (2013). Brutalism. [Brooklyn, N.Y.]: CLOG 97 13 May, K. and Hout, J. (2013). Brutalism.. [Brooklyn, N.Y.]: CLOG 97

F7 Flaine Ski Resor t

9

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versity lecture centre to perpetuate a sense of societal decay and failure, a the atre for violence that puts the individual against the state. The centre was used to set the scene for the mind-altering techniques used to alter people’s behaviour into patterns of conformity. In this film Brutalism has become an accessor y to crime, oppression and evil. In that same year Brutalist monolith Trinity Square Car Park in Gateshead (as mentioned before) played a star role in Get Car ter, where Michael Caine throws a rich villainous enemy off its highest floor in a brutal murder. Yet again a Brutalist monument is an accessor y to a crime. A 1972 Monty Python episode shows John Cleese presenting the design for a twelve -storey block of flats, which is actually an abattoir for slaughtering its tenants while another architect is shown to have a model which collapses and explodes into flames 14 , no doubt a reference to the 1968 Ronan Point disaster.

exploded. The load-bearing walls in the corner of the sitting room began crashing down onto those below, all the way to the bottom, killing four and injuring 17 . Lack of quality control, as a result of a government incentivised building rush, led to construction workers filling joints between the solid concrete panels used for the ‘large panel system’ with newspaper instead of cement and concrete. The Ronan point disaster was the beginning of concrete’s negative associations and a long line of failures.

High alumina cement used in concrete construction, popular because of its high early strength, deteriorated after just a few years of use as it converted to a weaker crystalline form. This process was expedited in a damp, warm environment. In 1973 this concrete structural weakness led to the disintegration of concrete beams in the assembly hall roof of Camden School for Girls as well as the Bennett building in Leicester university.

A year later the same thing happened at the swimming pool of Sir John Cass foundation and Red Coat Church of England secondary school. The combination of high alumina cement failures and the 1968 Ronan point disaster added to public and professional mistrust of Brutalist buildings.

F9 Trellick Tower

With such concrete failures and public distrust, it is no wonder that not long after the 1972 completion of the Trellick Tower, it came under scrutiny and was soon coined by local newspapers ‘the tower of doom’. ‘ The nightmare would start moments after entering the lobby.

Stench of urine, beer and stale sweat would seep from shadows, the lights would be smashed again and the corri-

Negative associations revealed within the media reflected a growing list of concrete failures. In the Clockwork Orange film (1971) Stanley Kurbrick uses the Brutalist setting of The Brunnel Uni-

14 Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Episode 17, transmitted bbc2, 20 October 1970. har t and Winston. 36

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dor vandalised into gloom. Silence did not mean no one was there’ 15 .

‘Architects who designed it could not have foreseen the drama of confrontation each morning be tween the concrete slabs and the rising sun’- J.B Ballard

tional scape goats, councils pushing the blame for the crime and societal problems they housed onto the architecture itself rather than realising their failure to invest in long-term upkeep. What do you expect to happen to a building if it has no janitors, no security and if they are not maintained? ‘You don’t buy a new car and never get it ser viced’ 18 .

Goldfinger ’s request for a tower-wide security system and a concierge was re fused by the Greater London Council and problems proliferated. As Trellick was denied security it became a hotspot for crime and a gathering point for delinquents.

The 1975 dystopian novel High Rise by J.B. Ballard 16 ( now adapted into a film

by Ben Wheatley) took inspiration from the brutalist high rises around London such as the Trellick. The stor y depicts a modern Brutalist high rise which begins to degenerate quickly when the ser vices begin to fail and small petty annoyances among inhabitants escalate as the tower descends into chaos. The towers anonymity divides the tower into clan like groupings, indicative of explicit social hierarchy with the rich living at the top with the towers architect Anthony Royal , a clear reference to Ernő Goldfinger who famously moved into his Brutalist Balfron Tower not long after its completion. Ballard’s storey is emblematic of the Britain’s general mistrust in the 1970s towards the state and associated ‘experts’ that were building their homes and public buildings ‘architects who de signed it could not have foreseen the drama of confrontation each morning between the concrete slabs and the rising sun’ 17 .

15 Carroll, R. (1999). How did this become the height of fashion? . [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian. com/theguardian/1999/mar/11/features11.g28 [Accessed 20 Feb. 2016].

16 Ballard, J. (1975). High-rise. New York: Holt, Rinehar t and Winston.

17 Ballard, J. (1975). High-rise. New York: Holt, Rinehar t and Winston. 36 18 Beanland, C. (2016). Concrete Concept. London: Frances Lincoln Limited. P13

Many Brutalist buildings become institu-

p2

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Politics rests ( figure 11).

‘ What was unique about 1968 was that people .. had in common only that desire to rebel, ideas about how to do it, a sense of alienation from the established order and a profound distaste for authoritarianism’ 19

While this was happening the Stalin regime that had ruled Czechoslovakia since the World War Two came to an end, and over the border in Poland people took to the streets with the messages of ‘down with the red bourgeois’. May was the high-point of the year: protests against the police in Paris escalated, causing an unravelling of events which led to nation-wide trade union strikes and occupations across France. 1968 saw continuing uprisings, one struggle after the other, and in 1968 sit-ins were prevalent among U.K university students, with many of the protests inspired songs by the Beetles such as Commonwealth, which targeted the political decisions of John Powell. The F 10 Thatcher early 70s saw a general distrust from the public towards authorities and a sense that socialism wasn’t being carried through properly. By association Brutalism became a symbol of a failing paternalistic society which had its recent past dictated by ‘experts’ and civil ser vants .

1968, as Mark Kurlansky puts it, is the year that rocked the world. All over the globe students were brought together, it was a moment in history when it seemed that the coming together of various acts of rebellion could meet the challenges and oppression forced upon society in its totality. The year began with North Vietnam launching the ‘ TET offensive’ against the USA in Vietnam. This bloody offensive saw the beginning of the end of U.S involvement within the Vietnam war and a wake -up-call back home instigating wide -spread anti-war sentiment in the USA. The TET offensive brought the sudden realisation that those who ruled over us were not ‘all and powerful’ and the first few months in Britain saw many student struggles, most of which aimed against Labour ministers supporting the Vietnam war and against Conser vative politicians such as Duncan Sandys and Patrick wall for their racism, later leading to the 10,000 strong Grosvenor square protest and hundreds of ar-

Building on this momentum, the 1973 an oil crisis resulted in the crude price of oil rising four-fold. Suddenly all this energy dependant architecture, with

17

When Brutalist social housing schemes such as the Smithson’s Robin Hood Gardens or Trellick Tower (1972) were built, they were out of sync with their times.

CLOG’s Brutalism book suggests that ‘ It was the rise of free -market neoliberalism that spelt the death of Brutalism’s form and its philosophical function’ 23 .

After the war there was a socialist motive driving much of our built environment, Brutalism’s modular spaces were a manifestation of the nation’s desire for social solidarity and an equal quality of life. Many later Brutalist buildings were born into an age suspicious of such ide alism, a mood Thatcher caught onto and gave political momentum. With Thatcher looming Brutalism was lined up to suffer a brutal fate.

lots of under-insulated spaces and lifts looked rather expensive and crazy. ‘ The collapse of the British economy at the time of the oil crisis ..spelled the end of public-sector architecture.. and Brutalism. A world that had been led by the heroes of post-war British modernists, among them Erno Goldfinger and Denys Lasdun, seemed to have come to a sudden stop.’ 20 Energy-saving designs followed the 1973 Oil Crisis and from then onwards – particularly after the 1979 oil crisis following falling of the Shah in Iran – the architectural profession in Britain moved its attention toward sustainable design.

The first Oil crisis marked an end to the thirty years of economic growth since the Second World war, leading to ‘a hiatus out of which emerged the free -market capitalism and globalisation we have today ’ 21

As the political radar swung right buildings had to abide by party politics and visually embody the nations model of free - market and right wing capitalism.

The Conser vatives passed the ‘Right-tobuy ’ in the 1980 housing act, allowing those who could afford to do so to buy their flat at a discounted rate and to subsequently sell it for a profit. Those who could not were stuck. Those who re mained were poorer and council homes

‘ When the institution fades, so does the building’ 22 Brutalism, and the mass housing it characterised, was the architectural dialect of the post-war welfare state. When that welfare began to change, so did its built environment.

By the time Thatcher came to lead parliament in 1975, her displeasure with the current housing was welcomed.

19 Kurlansky, M. (2004). The year that rocked the world. London. Vintage books p. 15 20 Glancey, J. (2009). The architecture of recession. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/ ar tanddesign/2009/mar/06/architecture -rogers-foster-recession [Accessed 9 Feb. 2016].

21 Har wood, E. and Powers, A. (n.d.). The seventies.p 9 22 Beanland, C. (2016). Concrete Concept. London: Frances Lincoln Limited. P8 23 May, K. and Hout, J. (2013). Brutalism. [Brooklyn, N.Y.]: CLOG. p.29

18

increasingly became the reserve of the more vulnerable and troubled. Owen Jones confidently states that ‘It was in the 1980s that council estates got their bad name as dilapidated, crime ridden, and deeply poor.. and any elements of truth were the direct result of government policies’ 24 The councils were prevented by government policy from building new homes or improving their existing stock. With no money to spend on the maintenance of existing stock, soon the accommodation became more and more run-down.

As council stocks depleted, what was remaining was made available for those most in need, which by definition meant the unemployed. Those who could bought out and left while those who couldn’t had sit and watch as the council dumped the socially troubled and mentally ill next door. The vibrant, mixed communities that once inhabited the likes of Trellick tower and Park hill soon became homogenously poor. Right-tobuy heralded the end of an era in social housing design, and to a large extent the generous budgets that allowed such Brutalist megaliths to be realised.

F11 Grosvenor Square Anti-Vietnam protest, London (1968)

24 Jones, O. (2011). Chavs. London: Verso. p62 19

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Conservation chitectural heritage could be destroyed in the next 30 years’ 27 . Such publications echoed sentiments from across the Atlantic. Jane Jacobs, in The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), advocated a return to the bustle of old street life and patterns and railed against the visions of modernism which were expressed through Brutalist high rises such as the Barbican complex.

Against Brutalism ‘1969-70 were the years where fashion really turned against Brutalism ‘ 25

The counter-culture that arose in 1968 attempted to overthrow the assumptions of how people like to live inherent in avant-garde brutalist architecture and at the same time there was a rapidly building awareness of environmental pollution and the finite nature of energy reser ves. The Heroic Age of Conservation, edited by Elain Har wood and Alan Power, identifies 1965-75 as a period of critical importance regarding the conser vation movement that opposed Brutalist blocks, many of which were rising on the sites of quality historic architecture. Ian Nairn, in a series of 1966 Observer articles with the title ‘Stop Architects Now ’, urged that:

F12 1968 Greater London Development Plan

The 1974 publication Crisis in Architecture summed up many post-war problems. Malcolm MacEwen argued that architects where not responding to the piecemeal, organic development of pre vious centuries and that he despised the ‘crushing geometr y ’ of functionalism and Brutalism’s unapologetic massing ‘ its ver y name now seemed an enathema’ 27.5

In an inter view with Elain Har wood on this topic she mentions how ‘ Brutalism gets tied up with big planning’ 28 . The GLC published the Greater London Development Plan (1968) which proposed to raze two-thirds of the historic Covent Garden to the ground (figure 12). There was massive opposition and in 1971 a Covent Garden Community Association was set up to oppose the proposed

‘we have to act and tell the professionals what we want, where they went wrong in their last scheme, how they might do better in their next’ 26 The young architectural historians Dan Cruikshank and Colin Amer y, in their book Rape of Britain (1975), described the developments of Worcester, Bath and Hereford as an ‘offically sponsored competition to see how much of Britain arF13 Covent Garden protestes

21

25 Calder, B. (26/01/16). interview between myself, George Fisher, and Barnabas Calder.

26 MacEwan, M. (1966). MacEwan’s guide to Nairn. Riba Journal.

27 Cruikshank, D. and Amer y, C. (1975). The rape of Britain.

London: Paul Elek, p.10.

27.5 -Har wood, E. and Powers, A. (2004.). The seventies.

28 Har wood, E (19/02/16) interview between myself, George Fisher, and Elain Harwood

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plans. ‘Covent Garden was packet full of journalists, architects, communists and ever yone who knew how to stand up to the GLC and say no’ 2 8.5

r nc

‘m

e

In the final plans published in 1976, nine out of the ten key sites marked for demolition were scrapped. This victor y marked a significant shift in the nation’s approach to development from construction to conser vation as people lost faith in the socialist utopian ideas symbolised by Brutalist constructs. Thatcher saw brutalism’s social ideals as a thing of the past; these conser vationists saw brutalism as the aesthetic of an impersonal, dystopian future.

14 Prince Charles- A Vision Of Britain (1989)

‘a

o sc ’ u e tro maz s on

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a ‘monstrous concrete maze’ 31 and its Brutalist central librar y ( Figure ) as ‘a place where books are incinerated, not kept!’. Rather than putting the will of people against the authority and arIn July 1972 Lady Dartmouth resigned chitectural elite, Prince Charles done from her position as chair woman of the exactly what he accused Brutalists of joint local authority committee who had doing, telling people what they should been working on the re want. What he could never ‘faceless, concrete have predicted is that his development designs jungle’ and clarified: propaganda was a contributing factor in a sway of ‘ I have felt increasingly that our proopinion from loathing to love by re posals are out of date and out of tune opening the discussion for Brutalism with public opinion, which fears that the and galvanising defenders. area will become a faceless, concrete 29 jungle’

pl ac cin e wh e er at re b ed , n ook s ot ke are pt in !’

‘Prince Charles’s publication’ a vision of Britain’ was possibly the absolute low point for Brutalism’ 30

28.5 Har wood, E (19/02/16) Phone interview between myself, George Fisher, and Elain Harwood 29 Nickelinthemachine, (2016). The GLC and how they Nearly Destroyed Covent Garden. [online] Available at: http://www. nickelinthemachine.com/2012/05/the -glc-and-how-they-nearly-destroyed-covent-garden/ [Accessed 27 Feb. 2016].

30 Calder, B. (26/01/16). 28 minutes Phone interview between myself, George Fisher, and Barnabas Calder.

31 Prince of Wales: A Vision of Britain. (1988). [Documentar y] London.

In 1989 Prince Charles’ ‘A Vision of Britain’ systematically demonised post-war architecture referencing Birmingham as F14.5 Birmingham Central Librar y 23

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LOVE

‘’Are these Brutalist buildings worth saving?’ -‘yes’’ 32 - Barnabas Calder Recently there has been a subtle but sure shift in the nation’s heritage and identity, manifesting itself through controversial Brutalist architecture. This section will present evidence that explores the reasons for this new Brutalist Renaissance.

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the places for which all sold out quickly, celebrating the importance of Brutalism.

As discussed earlier, conser vationism was one of the main movements that swayed public opinion against Brutalism in the 70s, but as Barnabas Calder points out ‘ The weird thing is that the conservation movement that contributed to bringing Brutalism to an end, fairly rapidly then turned its attention to looking after Brutalist buildings. It’s a slightly bizarre but amusing paradox.’ 35 .

On the weekend of September 18 th 2015, many of the most popular buildings at London’s ‘Open house’ were the Brutalist monoliths spread around the capital. The tours for these buildings, once coined ‘concrete monstrosities’, were over-subscribed and sold out in minutes. September the 4 th 2015 saw the arrival of Space, Hope and Brutalism

by Elain Har wood, a monolith in its self.

The glossy pictures of this 700 page book is ‘ the first major book to study English architecture between 1945 and 1975 in its entirety ’ 33 and presents the buildings in their best light to the many Brutalist fans out there. Barnabas Calder ’s Raw Concrete is due to come out 21 st of April 2016 and is the first book to fully explore this special study topicThe Brutalist Renaissance. Christopher Beanland’s Concrete Concept (Januar y 2016) is another recent Brutalism book, which as I will argue later is a typical publication of the Brutalist Renaissance.

English Heritage’s programme of postwar listing began in 1988 which proposed 70 buildings from the early 50s but only 18/70 were accepted by the government. Out of these failings came a high-profile research programme into post-war and Brutalism, led by Bridget Berr y, editor of the Pevsner architectural guides. The 1996 exhibition Something Wor th Keeping? Described the resultant recommendations to the public in London and Sheffield. The success of these thematic studies for post-war and Brutalism was proved by the buildings listed in that period. A thematic study by building type began in 1992 with schools and universities, and the first Brutalist building, Hunstanton school by the Smithsons, was listed in 1994. This was followed by Balfron Tower in 1995 ,Park hill and Trellick in 1998 , setting the scene for the Brutalist Renaissance as we now know it.

The National Trust has been influential in this shift, which is surprising as the trust is traditionally synonymous with bucolic, English leafy settings and monumental archaic typologies that ground themselves through their local vernacular. Their website states ‘we were founded with the aim of saving our nation’s heritage and open spaces ‘ 34 . On September 25 th 2015 for 10 days the National Trust offered rare views of concrete buildings around the countr y,

F15 Image taken by Jamie Hawkeswor th ‘Preston Bus Station Tribute’

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32 Calder, B. (26/01/16). Phone interview between myself, George Fisher, and Barnabas Calder. 30.00 minutes 33 Har wood, E. and Davies, J. (2014). Space, hope, and brutalism. New Haven: Yale University Press.

34 Nationaltrust.org.uk, (2015). Who we are - National Trust. [online] Available at: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/whatwe -do/who-we -are/ [Accessed 8 Oct. 2015].

35 Calder, B. (26/01/16). Phone interview between myself, George Fisher, and Barnabas Calder. 13.15

‘Worthwhile architecture is ahead of popular taste; it may take decades for the public to appreciate the buildings of architects who were derided in their lifetime’ 36 - Johnathon Meades

Fashion This quote from Johnathon Meades introduces my next point through a comparison with Victorian architecture which, like Brutalism, experienced a shift in public opinion from loathing to love.

This pararell than can help us understand why the nation has a new appre ciation for Brutalist architecture.

In the 60s and 70s the word ‘ Victorian’ was synonymous with social squalor, inhumane working conditions, disease and the exploitation of child labour. It also invoked feelings of bourgeois pomposity and aweful taste. During this period Victorian architecture had a new enemy: concrete, which many saw as the future, while Victorian architecture was old, excessive and indulgnt.

In reaction to this, in 1958 Sir John Betjeman and Nicolaus Pevsner set up the ‘ Victorian Society ’ to save Britain’s Victorian and Edwardian architecture from demolition. The battle they fought helped to slowly change the tide and to preser ve buildings until they were eventually appreciated. They managed to save many Victorian buildings , for exmple Liverpool’s Albert Dock by JB Hartley and St Pancras Station hotel by George Gilbert Scott.

By the 1970s the years of mindless prejudice were over, buildings from the Georgian and Victorian period were beginning to be appreciated by the general public, and not just people who belonged to the Victorian Society. This shift of taste was dependent on certain circumstances, Johnathan Meades argues.

1- There was by now a centur y gap be tween the birth of the style and its admirers; they could look and gaze at the forms of buildings without the years of dismissal from their parents, without deep seeded antipathy, outdated attitudes, and memor y of squalor and hardship.

2- They weren’t bought up in a world full of decaying or demolished 19 th centur y buildings, which had been overlooked and taken for granted.

These same two points can be used to explain the Brutalist Renaissance.

There were a number of sceptics at the time who though that genius and Victorian were not in any way compatible. Now ‘ Victorian’, for many people, conjures nostalgic images of cobbled streets, steep gables, gentle ornament, modest use of brick and tightly knit communities, an image perpetuated by the nation’s obsession with period dramas such as Downton Abbey. It seems that the

36 Jonathan Meades :: Bunkers Brutalism and Bloodymindedness Concrete Poetry. (2015). [DVD] Great Britain: Francis Hanly.

F16- Bustling street ( 1890) -The strans near St Clemens. Now demolished 27

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One generation’s futurism becomes another’s nostalgia; works of iconoclasm become icons and between the two states come rejection.

buildings of the Victorian period went through three stages- acclaim, rejection and then finally approval. One generation’s futurism becomes another ’s nostalgia; works of iconoclasm become icons and between the two states come rejection. As discussed in the ‘loathe’ section, Brutalism has already been through the first two stages, and it could be argued that it is at its point of approval. For the younger generations we have an eye untainted by years of media and film perpetuating the demonization of such constructions, seeing not the failed dreams of these brutalist monoliths but a vision of a society confident in its bold expression and collective in its interests. We were born after the construction of Brutalist buildings, able to look upon these buildings as historical objects.

well as visual that to my mind has never happened since and is unlikely to happen again’ 38 . Sheffield’s Park Hill estate recently featured in an episode of This Is England (Figure 17), testimony to the nostalgia that now runs parallel to Period dramas such as Downton Abbey.

Interestingly the time delay between fashion changing and listing occurring seem to be shrinking; by the 50s they were starting to list Georgian and Victorian architecture with the Victorian Society; by the 60s they were listing well into the 20th centur y; in the 70s they were listing the 30s; in the 90s they were listing the 60s. Is it possible that postmodernism will be the next fashion? It will be interesting to see what follows it.

Nostalgia is a sentiment that consumes a culture when an aspect is missing ‘ The 21 st centur y reappraisal of Brutalism is partly an attempt to re -invoke pre 1979 values of social democracy- even though the democracy wasn’t all it was cracked up to be’ 37 . As the greed of the current housing market swamps the news, cities like London are being bought by the mega-rich as investments while even middle - income young earners find it difficult to buy a house. The Brutalist renaissance could be seen as a protest against the current greed of the housing market. Elain Har wood sums up her appreciation ‘ there is an ambition in the 60s behind building that’s social as

F17- Park Hill featuring is this is England

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37 Beanland, C. (2016). Concrete Concept. London: Frances Lincoln Limited.p 11 38 Har wood, E (19/02/16) interview between myself, George Fisher, and Elain Harwood

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Community Intervention itants acted on an appreciation of their environment. 1994 saw the icing on the cake, with a full refurbishment including the hiring of a concierge, installation of security system, 24-hour security measures, entr y phone and key fob as well as 3 new faster stainless steel lifts. In 1998 Trellick tower was listed by English heritage and thus was fully recognised as an architectural landmark in London. Trellick Tower stands as a living testimony to the changing opinions with regard to the Brutalist style.

By the end of the 70s, the Goldfinger ’s Trelick tower situation couldn’t have looked much worse, with regular muggings, rapes and vandalism. Fast forward to the present and tenants adore it, advertisers film it, directors film it, architects go to study it and tourists go to take photographs. How did this miraculous turn-around happen? ‘ the turning point was when Trellick Tower got a concierge’ 39 One of the biggest contributing factors leading to the decline of Brutalist buildings such as Trellick came from the governments who built them, through their abusive neglect. Once this neglect was acknowledged, a turn-around occurred.

Preston bus stop is another example of how both local and national inter vention was employed to protect a Brutalist building. Designed by BDP and opened in 1969 it was conceived as a grand transport interchange. The ground floor is enclosed in glass and its double height permits access of double decker buses . Its most identifiable architectural feature are the four sweeping rows of sculptural precast concrete fins(figure 18), one proud local talks of how ‘it was the second biggest bus station in Europe and I’m ver y proud of that’ 40 . Its boasts 80 gates for both local and national buses, toilets, shops offices and a canteen;

On October the 8 th 1984 the situation at the Trellick tower slowly started to change when the tenants took the power in their own hands by setting up a tenants’ association which gave a voice to the concerns of the residents. The influence slowly started to uncoil through articles in newspapers, petitions on security, phone calls and letters to the housing departments. In 1986 the council changed its policy so that only tenants who wanted to live in Trellick could live there which massively improved the morale of those living there at the time and conditions improved as inhab-

F18 Preston Bus station

39 Har wood, E (19/02/16) Phone interview between myself, George Fisher, and Elain Harwood 40 A Film about Preston Bus Station. (2013). [video] Available at: http://prestonbusstation.co.uk/56000/film.html [Accessed 27 Feb. 2016] 31

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it’s the sheer scale of PBS that is seen by some as its biggest failing but by others its greatest feature.

‘emblem of a period when architecture was interested in doing things’ 41 . During the 70s it was often the locals pitted against the experts in regards to Brutalism, but here we can see the two working together and this is symbolic of the nation’s changing attitude towards Brutalism.

Years of decline through neglect, some say deliberate, followed its opening like so many other brutalist constructs. In 2000 PBS was set to be demolished as part of the Tithebarn scheme - a £700m retail driven regeneration plan which characterised PBS as dysfunctional, not fit for purpose and a drain on public re sources, a characterisation typical of re generators and international developers keen to demolish 1960s buildings. Similar justifications were used for the demolition of the aforementioned Tri-corn centre in Portsmouth and Trinity centre in Gateshead. Despite what the developers said, many locals thought that the bus stop had a strong cultural significance for the town and local individuals asserted this through social media and film. The best known pressure group calls itself Save Preston Bus Station (SPBS) led by local John Wilson. Local writer and photographer, Andy Wilson and Paul Adams, have made a successful video called 56,000, promoting the significance the PBS has for its community.

F19 Robin Hood Gardens

It faced demolition in 2013 , following re ports that much needed maintenance on the building was going to cost up to £23 million but due to continued popularity amongst local, national and international pressure groups it was eventually grade two listed on the 23 rd September 2013, blocking any future development of the site. ‘ The listing of Preston bus Station in September 2013, to general acclaim, was an important step in the appreciation of the most difficult style of the 1960s, monumental brutalism’ 42 Robin Hood Gardens (figure 19) also loved by the pople , but despite continued efforts of supporters such as 20 th centur y society, is now getting demolished. Neo-liberalisation is still a massive threat to Brutalism.

The rescue of PBS was not only contingent on local support, its popularity extended on a national level. Former RIBA president, Angela Brady, has been a highly influential lobbiest. The avantgarde were also out in support: Richard Rogers and Rem Koolhaus called PBS an

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41 Toogood, M. and Neate, H. (2013). Preston Bus Station: Heritage, Regeneration, and Resistance. Nor th West Geography, [online] Volume 13. Available at: http://www.mangeogsoc. org.uk/pdfs/toogood-and-neate_13_1.pdf [Accessed 27 Feb. 2016]. 11 42 Har wood, E. (2015). England’s post-war listed buildings.

London: Pavilion Books.p13

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A New Perspective On Brutalism

Concept (2016) with its concrete textured cover follows the large beautiful image and small text format for easy coffee table consumption, as does Stephi Oratzi’s Modernist Estates (2015). These books discuss the architecture with the photos in a way which tells you what to think about them as they are sensually heightened aesthetic experiences.

Elain Har wood’s Space, Hope and Brutalism publication (2015) appears more in keeping with the more political way of writing, talking more about the political and economic context in which these buildings were first presented to the public.

Online fan groups such as ‘ Fuck yeah Brutalism’ show how the renaissance of Brutalism is in some areas is based totally on the visual. This is a change of how Brutalism was previously presented, Barnabas Calder points out ‘in the 60s there was felt to be a strong association between progressive politics of the time and architecture; many of those who love Brutalism now are more interested in how it looks than in the detail of the politics that gave rise to it’ 43 . Compare the way things were written about in the Architectural Review during the 1960s and the ways in which they are written about now, and it’s easy to see howlittle discussion there was on how things looked. This is largely due to the fact that many dominant clients during the 60s were public sector, therefore it can have deduced that architects and clients were aware they were best to talk about things in a quite dr y manner rather than infusing about the aesthetic experience.

Despite this Fuck yeah Brutalism- classic of the spirit of the Brutalist revival, seems to be totally apolitical, totally visual.

There is a danger that if the fans focus on the aesthetic and texture of in-situ concrete that the ethics behind it are lost, as Banham argued- New Brutalism constituted an ethical as much as aesthetic, proposition. Despite this Elain Har wood disagrees and thinks that the renaissance is ‘more than just visual, I think there is a romance for building for the public good’ but goes onto say ‘ there is no wrong answer we will all say something different’ 44 .

Many of the books published on Brutalism since its revival consist of large images with little text which reinforce this point. Christopher Beanland’s Concrete

43 Calder, B. (26/01/16). interview between myself, George Fisher, and Barnabas Calder 44 Har wood, E (19/02/16) Phone interview between myself,

F20 Online ‘Fuck Yeah Brutalism’ Logo 35

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With very little text or direction, the player is encouraged to explore the environment through solid and void, light and shadow; stripping the sensual expe rience back to the most basic, the player fills the gaps through experience of the environment.

‘Its threatening forms confront the player and add a sense of challenge and accomplishment to level design that few other architectural styles can match.’ 45 Another example the Assassin’s Creed : Revelations game (Figure 21) with the side mission ‘Desmond’s journey ’ which takes the player through the subconscious mind of Desmond in an attempt to wake him up- as you delve deeper into his subconscious his memories become more and more obscure and 37

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Here is a clear link between Brutalism, memor y and nostalgia and these themes link with other parts of the Brutalist re naissance which see concrete as a nostalgic symbolism. It could be argued these games present, and many others out there I’m sure, the Brutalist renaissance at its finest- pure visual stor y-telling without any super fluous information to accompany it which members of the Fuck Yeah Brutalism group would digest with enjoyment.

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As Christopher Beanland points out, Brutalism has infected popular culture, technological gaming being no exception.

Brutalism is often criticized for being oppressive, aggressive, crude, lacking decoration and almost always demands an emotional response. Game makers are always looking for ways to stimulate strong emotions and associations and it appears Brutalism can provide these. A successful video game called Naissancee uses this style to evoke a sense of wonder. The core ideas of the game are engrained within the concrete. ( figure 22)

45 Grace, H. (2016). Gamasutra: Hamish Grace’s Blog - Brutalist Architecture in Games. [online] Gamasutra.com. Available at: http://

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RETROFIT

Conser vation Advisor to the Secretar y of State for Scotland ,Robert Matthew, in a 1974 speech said:

‘.. The mu l ti pl e p u r p o s e s t hat t he o r iginal s truc t u re a l l owe d fo r we re n o t d elib erate l y o r i nte nti on a l l y b u il t into t he st ru c t u re.

I t is, rath e r, th e ir int r in s ic ‘co m p etence’ t hat e n a bl e s t he m to p e r fo r m different f unc ti on s un d e r d if fe re nt c irc u mst ances, and th u s to pl ay a d if fe re nt ro le w it hin a c it y a s a wh ol e’ 4 6

‘Buildings are infinitely more adaptable than we have hitherto been persuaded to believe … ’ 47 - A message that called for the preser vation of existing Victorian buildings rather than their destruction and replacement by Brutalist blocks .

Now we see a similar statements with regard to the preser vation and potential of old Brutalist estates within the UK, the ver y buildings that conser vationists opposed. In a recent publication, antithetical to Cameron’s plans to bulldoze London’s ‘Sink estates’ , Andrew Adonis proposed that we should re -generate existing post-war council homes to cre ate ‘city villages’, an urban movement to help solve the housing crisis. With the onset of climate change the thermal massing properties of Brutalist buildings, which allow heat retention in winter and reduced use of mechanical cooling in summer , are becoming increasingly attractive. Moreover the huge amounts of embodied carbon within Brutalist architecture makes it seem increasingly absurd to knock them down.

- Herm a n He r t z b e rg e r

46 Her tzberger, H. (1991). Lessons for students in architecture. Rotterdam: Uitgeverij 010 Publishers.p 103 47 Grindrod, J. (2013). Concretopia. England: Old Street Publishing LTD, p.348 p2

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ture is bleak and hostile.

Park Hill( figure 23/23.5), Sheffield, is perhaps one of the most famous and most talked about British Brutalist buildings. Sheffield’s Pedlars Night Market, a trendy transient market that inhabits various character-filled areas around Sheffield provides, its visitors with the opportunity to buy park-hill-orientated goods in the arts and crafts stalls; including bold Park-Hill screen prints, mugs and bags. In June 2015 the market inhabited part of park hill itself. The integration between the market and Parkhill estate is just one of the many indications that reflect the estate’s growing popularity within both Sheffield and the nation-wide design circles.

F23- Park Hill retrofit chronology

The fortunes of Park Hill changed in 1997 when it was granted grade two listing.

Property developer Urban Splash took over and commissioned architects Hawkins Brown and Studio Egret to renovate it, 2/3 of the renovated flats are being made available for people to buy or rent.

The structure has been refurbished along with the flats involving a fashionable interior make -over and the use of coloured aluminium panels on the façade.

Now approached from the city centre the bright colours give a feeling of joviality and a ver y clear distinction that the area has felt the strokes of ‘Urban Splash’

Park hill was completed in 1961 as part of a slum clearance strategy, designed

by Ivor Smith and Jack Lyn, it sits proudly looking over Sheffield. The architects were inspired by Corbu’s Unite de habitation like so many buildings of the time, with ‘streets in the sky ’ each named after the roads they replaced with neighbours from the old communities put next to one another. For the first decade it was a complete success but due to lack of maintenance, the destruction of industrial economy that Sheffield previously thrived on, the use of the estate as a dumping ground for difficult tenants and a society that was increasingly incubating a drug culture the estate went into massive decline. By 1980 The Times was writing of Park Hill being an area of worst deprivation where the architec-

F23.5- Park Hill Retrofit

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‘If there is a fate worse than death for Brutalism, surely it is preser vation, or even ghastlier, sympathetic and considerate restoration’ 48 Unlike Preston bus stop where the architectural style is loved, with Park hill the architectural style has been adapted. For some the renovation of Park hill is seen as a ver y mixed tribute to Brutalism, its brightly coloured facade is a deliberate re -image of the previously tough-looking aesthetic. Elain Har wood thinks ‘they ’ve

48 May, K. and Hout, J. (2013). Brutalism. [Brooklyn, N.Y.]: CLOG.p. 165

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over-cooked it and made a problem by doing a Rolys Royce when a modest conversion would have worked’ and that ‘they are tr ying to fight brutalism with brightly coloured panels’ 49 . Since Park Hills phase one refurbishment fashions have changed considerably and those most likely to want a flat in Park hill now are likely raw Brutalism. Only 200 of the 600 eventually renovated flats are to be up for social rent in what architectural critic Owen Hatherley calls ‘Class cleansing’ 50 , squeezing onto the ever larger waiting lists for council homes in Sheffield (figure 24).

Although perhaps not a diligent tribute to Brutalism, it has kept the streets in the sky and the aluminium panels still indicate the deck access level externally. The original architect Ivor Smith says ‘ Hawkins\ Brown and Studio Egret West have got the balance right between respect for authenticity and the need to embrace change.’ 51 .

It can’t be forgotten that Park Hill’s original state is associated with degradation and crime by many Sheffield dwellers, re generation aims to un-do past stigmas for and in this case its a success. Despite this, it has been done through a form of gentrification but the inclusion of 200 social rent flats is at least a start and will help contribute to a mixed demographic the area so desperately needs. March 2016 saw Mikhail Riches architects winning the competition for the latest phase of housing at park hill. They said: ‘ We like the idea we can make more of the historic fabric in this second phase’ 52 . The proposal chooses to retain the existing brickwork, a decision more responsive to the Brutal-

F24 Class Cleansing. at Park hill, Matt Kenyon

ist Renaissance’s taste.

The theme of retro-fitting Brutalist buildings for private buyers shows how renewed interest for Brutalism is bringing the potential for profit. When tenants were moved from Balfron in preparation for refurbishment by HARCA they were led to believe that they would be able to return. It Is now clear that this is not going to be possible as the flats are now being made available for the private buyer. Yet again another Brutalist building falling into the grasps of neoliberalism.

As revealed in this study there is the side of the renaissance that has revived Brutalism in a pure aesthetic sense and the group that reaches back towards the

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politics. It seems that developers are often ‘wearing’ the aesthetic of Brutalism in order to borrow it’s the utopian credentials that are associated with the aesthetic. This plants the idea in people’s mind that they are aiming towards a development that increases social cohesion, when in fact their main aim is simply to make a lot of money.

49 Har wood, E (19/02/16) inter view between myself, George Fisher, and Elain Har wood 50 Hatherley, O. (2011). Regeneration? What ’s happening in Sheffield’s Park Hill is class cleansing | Owen Hatherley. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/ commentisfree/2011/sep/28/sheffield-park-hill-class-cleansing [Accessed 1 Apr. 2016].

51 Smith, I. (2011). Park Hill’s Original Architect Responds to AR Revisit. [online] Architectural Review. Available at: http:// www.architectural-review.com/rethink/reviews/park-hillsoriginal-architect-responds-to-ar-revisit/8621100.fullar ticle [Accessed 28 Feb. 2016].

52 Mark, L., Waite, R., Hurst, W., Mark, L. and Waite, R. (2016). Video: Why we chose Mikhail Riches for Park Hill Phase II. [online] Archi

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Conclusion

crete, like all fashions, is vulnerable to change with taste, but the admiration for the ethics and political ideals that went into them and an understanding of their environmental capability through retrofit insures a long term appreciation that transcends taste and associated vulnerabilities. The extent to which this Brutalist Renaissance is based on the ethics as opposed to aesthetic therefore is paramount to its sur vival which leads us to ask the same question Reyner Banham proposes in one of the first ever publications about Brutalism in 1955 The New Brutalism article : Ethic or Aesthetic?

articles and books, a whole array of beautiful in-situ images mesmerize the masses and promote the Brutalist aesthetic through image stor y-telling. The passage of time has also allowed locals to take ownership over their local Brutalist monoliths and, as shown with Trellick Tower and Preston Bus station, this proud ownership has resulted in their preservation, along with the continued assistance of English Heritage. The Brutalist renaissance has resulted in retrofitting of such buildings as Park Hill, which some see as a mixed tribute to brutalism through its aesthetic and private tenure.

This study has sought to understand the changes in opinion towards Brutalism, from its conception to the present day, using carefully selected case -studies to outline the most prominent contributing factors.

The naïve translation of Corbu’s use of béton brut into British climates and the failure of the welfare state to provide long-term investment for its Brutalist buildings led to their physical degradation, as seen with Owen Luder ’s buildings. At the same time the ‘68 worldwide civil rights movement, oil crisis and consequent period of conservation further continued the dissatisfaction toward Brutalism and its associated bodies.

Thatcherism marked the final blow to the already crippled welfare stock through the ‘right-to-buy ’ scheme, obliteration of industrial communities and destruction of trade unions. A sense of collectivism was lost and the principles behind many of the most notable Brutalist buildings were beginning to be regarded as ‘outdated’ as individualism took hold.

Existing Brutalist constructs have survived the 70s conser vation movement, Thatcherism, Vandalism, changes of fashion and Prince Charles. Despite the Brutalist renaissance, it is uncertain whether this architectural style will be able to hold its physical existence and ethical function against the new tide of neo-liberalism, potentially disastrous retrofit and continued developer-lead destruction.

ETHIC OR AESTHETIC?

On a personal level I am sitting happily among the many lovers of Brutalism, the icons for me also have come to represent a nostalgic protest to the current greed of the housing market and a romanticism of the post-war British sense of collectivism. When an interest for Brutalism goes beyond the aesthetic and into the ethics behind it, that is when one can truly appreciate Brutalism in its totality. The new love for the aesthetic of exposed con-

The passage of time has allowed Brutalist buildings to be seen as historical objects which have moved through the same temporal cycle of acclaim, rejection and finally approval that Victorian architecture endured. Perpetuated through media, computer games, image driven

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F 25

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Images used for collage: Get Car ter- Micheal K ane. (2007). [image] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar ticle -1297982/How-Get-Car ters-famousmulti-storey-car-park-met-brutal-demise.html [Accessed 2 Apr. 2016].

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