Modern London

London architecture, transport & design 1920s - present

[scavengedluxury]

Icon Hotel. Luton, September 2015.

[germanpostwarmodern]

House (1963-65) built for himself in London, England, by Brian Housden. Photo by David Spero.

[modernism-in-metroland]

Media Centre, Lords Cricket Ground

1999

Future Systems

Image from RIBApix

[lukasnovo]

Big Barbican print.

[lukasnovo]

Route 38 was taken over by London Bus Museum today! Everyone smiling and sharing memories. Mostly Routemasters and RTs.

[lukasnovo]

y e l l o w

[lukasnovo]

Illustration of the fantastically dynamic Triga sculpture by Franta Belsky. It stands on a podium of the Caltex House in Knightsbridge, as a reference to the previous use of the site as an auction yard where race horses were traded.

Caltex House from 1957 is rather unremarkable (albeit one of the few remaining examples of tower & podium typology in London) and is now subject to redevelopment. Future of Triga is uncertain. It was sculpted ‘in situ’ as a wireframe covered in concrete and weighs some 6 tons – moving it will be challenging!

Belsky’s biographer Bohumil Vostal is now fighting to protect the sculpture and to give it a dignified new location – rather than a muddy countryside horse farm suggested by the developer.

Belsky, a Czech emigre, is better known for his iconic ‘Joyride’ in Stevenage and portraits of the Royal Family. He was mentioned in Owen Hatherley’s brilliant book Alienation Effect (2024) which is now coming out as a paperback.

[popularsizes]

[lukasnovo]

Bastion House and The Museum of London are two 1970s landmarks designed by Powell & Moya, one of the most significant practices in postwar Britain. C20 Society called them ‘A rare survivor of a hugely important part of the City of London’s post-war planning history’.

The site is at an extremely complex corner of Barbican estate – bordered by Grade I listed remains of a London Wall bastion, Grade II listed Ironmorger Hall and two busy roads. This translated into the design of intricate podium structure. In the east it’s topped with a tower (Bastion House), while the south western edge extends over the road into a roundabout/new bastion.

The whole 'set' is slated for demolition and replacement by two office towers by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Barbican Quarter Action and C20 spent the last three and half years valiantly fighting for protection and adaptive reuse of the existing buildings. This autumn the campaign won a right to present the case to the High Court.

Rejection of adaptive repurpose of existing structures is incredibly wasteful in material, energy and CO2. Perhaps the current system needs to be updated to give more incentives to good developers wishing to retain and update existing buildings, rather than tore them down.

[modernism-in-metroland]

NLA Tower, Croydon

1970

Richard Seifert & Partners

Image from RIBApix

[lukasnovo]

Illustration of Terry Farrell's Mi6 building in London.

[scavengedluxury]

Weston Rise estate. London, June 2014.

[lukasnovo]

Inside of Bevin Court, designed by Skinner, Bailey and Lubetkin and opened in 1954. Got inside as a part of C20 Society tour of Clerkenwell.

[lukasnovo]

The Laboratory in Clerkenwell, designed by Stanley Hall and Easton and Robertson. Opened in 1938 as labs and offices of New River water company. Managed to get inside with a C20 Society tour!

[dispelzine]

Walls / West Smithfield, London, England.

[lukasnovo]

Brilliant film Sitting target (1972) by Douglas Hickox.

[lukasnovo]

Fun to illustrate POMO in Bermondsey – China Wharf by CZWG. It's really hard to see this façade in real life, as it faces the Pool of London.