Defend the Indefensible - Concrete Architecture

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yes, so far
concrete buildings of jenga quality = dud
concrete buildings of sci-fi-novel-cover quality = classic

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Friday, 16 April 2004 12:41 (twenty years ago) link

far too general. Angles and curves living together in harmony, or disharmony it's good.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 16 April 2004 12:44 (twenty years ago) link

precast concrete buildings = dud
poured concrete buildings = classic

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 16 April 2004 12:47 (twenty years ago) link

I agree that concrete is pretty depressing.

The solution is not pink paint but light-emitting concrete.

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 16 April 2004 12:49 (twenty years ago) link

ah, it's a block thing.

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 16 April 2004 12:52 (twenty years ago) link

Park hill flats are a dangerous, nasty place and should be destroyed/

and do you mean Emley mast Ed? Ilkeston is at the bottom of a valley near Derby? If so yeah, right on the tops above Bradford? dominates the skyline for miles and miles - fantastic stuff

― chris (chris), Friday, 16 April 2004 12:56 (twenty years ago) link

It's not that concrete sucks, it's that people don't take advantage of its properties.

http://mimezine.com/~uhtu/2003.08/lr_marina_city.jpg

― Kerry (dymaxia), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:02 (twenty years ago) link

that's huge but beautiful

― chris (chris), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:03 (twenty years ago) link

Isn't that the thing off the cover of that Wilco album?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:03 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, they had it built specifically for it.

― hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:07 (twenty years ago) link

Park Hill just got a cracking huge EC grant to refurbish, didn't it? They're doing installations there now. It looks amazing on a sunny day.

The biggest problem an architect faces with concrete seems to be rain stains - remember the stuff was invented by peoples who didn't see as much rain as the rest of us.

A painter ex-neighbour of mine has just been rehoused in the Brunswick Centre, where he is in delirium about the light he is getting in his conservatory, which fills the flat with lovely sunshine. These are meant to be machines for living in, so I can forgive the hallways somewhat in the knowledge that nobody in the place suffers from SAD. However Pete is right, they ought to blanket-ban net curtains there - ruins the sightlines.

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:10 (twenty years ago) link

If you scroll down fast it's like it's falling on top of you.

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:11 (twenty years ago) link

corb was a bit silly, really.

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:13 (twenty years ago) link

angles were not precluded

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:14 (twenty years ago) link

I think it can be best summarised as follows:

Ronan Point
http://www.geocities.com/simpsonneil/ronanpoint_lrg.jpg

Vs.

Roehampton estate
http://www.geocities.com/simpsonneil/roehamp1_lrg.jpg

― hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:15 (twenty years ago) link

shit, hang on.

― hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:16 (twenty years ago) link

http://www.geocities.com/simpsonneil/roehamp1_lrg.jpg

― hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:16 (twenty years ago) link

sorry. My Pc appears to be going mental.

― hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:17 (twenty years ago) link

Ronan Point?!

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:17 (twenty years ago) link

the only grant for Park hill shjould be to demolish it, not sure what it's like now to be honest, but back when I was thirteen/fourteen it was the place that we dared each other to go to the top of. There was crap and needles everywhere

― chris (chris), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:17 (twenty years ago) link

we may also be forgetting that any the vast majority of buildings look ten times nice on a bright sunny day. well i find that anyway.

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:17 (twenty years ago) link

retardotype, escuse me

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:18 (twenty years ago) link

should i make a badly drawn kitten attack another building? or should i not bother?

― g-kit (g-kit), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:25 (twenty years ago) link

Ronan Point as an example of bad corbusier derived modernist concrete architecture with right angles, Roehampton as an example of good corbusier derived concrete modernist architecture with right angles.

xpost

Oh go on, why not.

― hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:28 (twenty years ago) link

Badly Drawn Kitten definitely needs a go at the Tricorn. They're demolishing the thing anyway, what better way to go than obliterated by a giant cat?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:32 (twenty years ago) link

Also, if BDK won't do it, TANKPUSS will!

http://alantrewartha.20m.com/cattank-t.jpg

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:35 (twenty years ago) link

Oh, sorry about that picture - it didn't look like that when I tried it out before posting.

Yes, it is Marina City in Chicago and the building on the Wilco album - you should look up Bertrand Goldberg if you like it.

I'll ask the mods to take it down and use the link instead.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:39 (twenty years ago) link

Badly Drawn Kit stikes again!

http://www.kittenrecords.co.uk/archkit.jpg

― g-kit (g-kit), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:41 (twenty years ago) link

i meant strikes again, obv.
got too excited about it and mistyped all over the motherfucker.

― g-kit (g-kit), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:42 (twenty years ago) link

it's amazing how difficult it is, to find good images, online.

tadao ando.

http://www46.tok2.com/home/arc/osaka/galleria_akka_01.jpg http://www.philau.edu/schools/add/ugradmajors/Architecture/BuildingTech/Images/KidosakiExt.jpg

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:49 (twenty years ago) link

the mast Ed talks of (I think):
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/eric.ellis/images/emley_moor_new.jpg

― chris (chris), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:51 (twenty years ago) link

Pictures of Park Hill please - bit hard to Google for if you don't know what you're looking for.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:52 (twenty years ago) link

(x-post) you can see that from my father in law's house! IICR its predecessor blew over one stormy night.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:53 (twenty years ago) link

Park Hill is pictured upthread

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:54 (twenty years ago) link

obviously, found on a pulp site:
http://www.pulppeople.plus.com/Sheffield/parkhill.jpg

― chris (chris), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:54 (twenty years ago) link

That's fucking horrible.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:55 (twenty years ago) link

louis kahn.

salk institute:

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/11.kahn.salk.ext3.jpg http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/12.kahn.salk.towers.jpg http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/10.kahn.salk.ext2.jpg http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/09.kahn.salk.ext.jpg

national assembly in dacca:

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/19.kahn.dacca.jpg http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/20.kahn.dacca.1.jpg http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/23.kahn.dacca.light.int.jpg http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/23a.kahn2.dacca.int.jpg i http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/21.kahn.dacca.int.1.jpg http://falcon.jmu.edu/~tatewl/KAHN/22.kahn.dacca.int.2.jpg

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:55 (twenty years ago) link

they're grade 2 listed for sobbing out loud

http://society.guardian.co.uk/housing/story/0,7890,496657,00.html

― chris (chris), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:56 (twenty years ago) link

ah well there's always...

http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/metro/01/0109/21/hoover.jpg

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:58 (twenty years ago) link

Bilbao airport:
http://www.renteria.net/album/display/314.jpg

― chris (chris), Friday, 16 April 2004 13:59 (twenty years ago) link

i quite like http://www.gainsboroughstudios.co.uk, pass it on my work to every day

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 16 April 2004 14:00 (twenty years ago) link

you all loved it, i can tell. that took me... 7 minutes!

bah.

― g-kit (g-kit), Friday, 16 April 2004 14:00 (twenty years ago) link

Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, St. Louis:

http://stlcin.missouri.org/images/devprojects/pulitzer-pp2.jpg
http://www.taschen.com/media/images/190/excerpts_arch_now_ii_14.jpg

http://www.pulitzerarts.org/architecture.htm

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 16 April 2004 14:01 (twenty years ago) link

one of my favourites, berthold lubetkin. a real crime there aren't more images, to find.

london zoo's penguin pool:

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/penguin/ppool.jpg http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/penguin/ppoolramps.jpg

highpoints:

http://housingprototypes.org/images/highpoint_01.jpg http://housingprototypes.org/images/images/highpoint_03.jpg

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 16 April 2004 14:02 (twenty years ago) link

The Hoover building is lovely.

― robster (robster), Friday, 16 April 2004 14:03 (twenty years ago) link

Roehampton:
'Prominent Modernists like Alison and Peter Smithson, (often called 'New Brutalists'), worried that fellow architects and planners were keen to develop a softer, 'humanist,' Modernism, along the lines of the architecture of the Swedish welfare state. This architecture was more cautious than pre-war Modernism, and tended to be more in tune with the national vernacular.'

damn those fuxoring peasants

'However, the external decoration of the houses at Alton East irked the hardline Modernist faction in the London County Council's Architects' Department. The brightly coloured brickwork, painted window frames and wide bands of concrete at regular intervals on the exterior were all considered frivolous, and lacking any obvious function. However, the housing at Alton East has proved to be popular with residents.'

yeahyeahyeah but what do they know...

'The absence of frivolous detailing and the angular simplicity of the concrete frames signalled a return to basic Modernist principles.'

where did they get the idea that modernism wasn't some kind of aesthetic (= 'frivolous') in itself ?
'functionality' <=> dressed-up aesthetic preferences

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Friday, 16 April 2004 14:24 (twenty years ago) link

that's the joke, SM.

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 16 April 2004 14:40 (twenty years ago) link

i have no time for such frivolity

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Friday, 16 April 2004 15:18 (twenty years ago) link

:' (

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 16 April 2004 15:18 (twenty years ago) link

fret not RJG - some of yr pictures on this thread were part of heducating me that concrete !necessarily = dud, thus giving me a more +ve outlook
this is a good thing :)

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Friday, 16 April 2004 15:30 (twenty years ago) link

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