Shelf Life - Brutalist Britain

This week I wanted to share a book that I borrowed from the Library...

Brutalist Britain - Buildings from the 1960's and 1970's by Elain Harwood, Published in 2022 by BT Batsford Ltd.
Brutalism has been described as an " architectural response to Britain's greatest wave of levelling up between North , South , Rich & Poor in the early 1960's".

So it was nice to see a range of buildings from around the UK, including those from the North, such as 'the streets in the sky of Park Hill Housing Estate in Sheffield', the beautiful facades of Leeds and Strathclyde Universities, as well as the mundane - Tithebarn Street Bus Station and Car Park, Preston - who knew that a car park could look so good.

In this collection celebrating Brutalist buildings from around the UK, Elain Harwood has chosen well known examples such as Trellick Tower by Erno Goldfinger, to those less well known or considered; a short descriptive history of each building is accompanied by a colour photograph showcasing these often divisive bold, brutish buildings - it makes interesting reading, especially when you consider the context of the why they were built...

This weeks playlist song - well all this got me thinking about these buildings which were built for the rich & poor...it just had to be Pulp's - Common People - Enjoy!  

PS; As a side note I just love the graphic illustration on the cover by Paul Catherall, with it's reference to Mid - Century Modern Colours.