Author: John Grindrod Publisher: ISBN: 9781906964900 Category : Architecture Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Was Britain's postwar rebuilding the height of mid-century chic or the concrete embodiment of crap towns? John Grindrod decided to find out how blitzed, slum-ridden and crumbling austerity Britain became, in a few short years, a space-age world of concrete, steel and glass. What he finds is a story of dazzling space-age optimism, ingenuity and helipads - so many helipads - tempered by protests, deadly collapses and scandals that shook the government.
Author: John Grindrod Publisher: Batsford Books ISBN: 1849945179 Category : Architecture Languages : en Pages : 169
Book Description
A passionate and personal book about the writer's own love for a controversial architectural style. Whether you love or hate brutalist buildings, this book will explain what it is about them that elicits such strong feeling. You will understand the true power of concrete and of mammoth-sized buildings, but also some of the more subtle aspects of brutalist buildings that you may not have known or considered. Brutalist architecture, which flourished in the 1950s to mid-1970s, gained its name from the term ' Béton-brut', or raw concrete – the material of choice for the movement. British architectural critic Reyner Banham adapted the term into 'brutalism' (originally 'New Brutalism') to identify the emerging style. The architectural style – typified by buildings such as Trellick Tower in London and Unité D'Habitation in Marseille – is controversial but has an enthusiastic fan base, including the author who is on a mission to explain his passion. John Grindrod's book will be enlightening for those new to the subject, bringing humour, insight and honesty to the subject but will also interest those already immersed in built culture. Illustrated with striking drawings by The Brutal Artist, the book is divided up into a series of mini essays that explains the brutalist world from a human aspect, as well as an architectural, historical and even pop cultural angle. The book journeys from the UK to discover brutalism and its influence around the world – from Le Corbusier's designs in Chandigarh, India, to Lina Bo Bardi's buildings in Brazil.
Author: Peter Chadwick Publisher: ISBN: 9780993585395 Category : Architecture Languages : en Pages : 186
Book Description
In 'The Town of Tomorrow', 50 years of Thamesmead's history have been assembled and preserved. The architecture of the town and its inhabitants are captured by archive material combined with newly commissioned photography by Tara Darby. Original plans, models, postcards, leaflets and newspaper cuttings are presented alongside interviews with local residents. Together with an introductory essay by John Grindrod, the images convey the story of this influential but often misunderstood town, from the dreams and excitement of its ambitious original vision to the complex realities of living there today. Peter Chadwick is the author of 'This Brutal World' (Phaidon). John Grindrod is the author of 'Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain' (Faber & Faber)
Author: Anthony King Publisher: Penguin UK ISBN: 0141980664 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 352
Book Description
The British system has been radically transformed in recent decades, far more than most of us realise. As acclaimed political scientist and bestselling author Anthony King shows, this transformation lies at the heart of British politics today. Imagining - or pretending - that the British political system and Britain's place in the world have not greatly changed, our political leaders consistently promise more than they can perform. Political and economic power is now widely dispersed both inside and outside the UK, but Westminster politicians still talk the language of Attlee and Churchill. How exactly has the British system changed? Where does power now lie? In Who Governs Britain?, King offers the first assessment in many years of Britain's governing arrangements as a whole, providing much needed context for the 2015 general election.
Author: John Grindrod Publisher: Faber & Faber ISBN: 0571348157 Category : Architecture Languages : en Pages : 414
Book Description
A captivating exploration of Britain's most iconic contemporary buildings, from the Barratt home to the Millennium Dome.***TIMES BOOK OF THE WEEK*** 'A punchy polemic ... Highly readable.''A love letter to contemporary buildings and a fantastic account of recent British history, rich in humour.' NINA STIBBE'Brilliant, encyclopaedic, funny and often cutting.' DANNY DORLING'An eloquent, witty, passionate tour of Britain since the 1980s.' JOHN BOUGHTON'Recounts the stories of our lived landscapes with wit, passion and a shot of anger.' TOM DYCKHOFF'Grindrod has spoken to everyone and his observations are humane and acute.' OWEN HATHERLEYWimpey homes. Millennium monuments. Riverside flats. Wind farms. Spectacular skyscrapers. City centre apartments. Out of town malls.The buildings designed in our lifetimes encapsulate the dreams and aspirations of our culture, while also revealing the sobering realities. Whether modest or monumental, they offer a living history of Britain, symbols of the forces that have shaped our modern landscape and icons in their own right.ICONICON is an enthralling journey around the Britain we have created since 1980: the horrors and delights, the triumphs and failures. From space-age tower blocks to suburban business parks, and from postmodernist exuberance to Passivhaus eco-efficiency, this is at once a revelatory architectural grand tour and an endlessly witty and engaging piece of social history.
Author: Lynsey Hanley Publisher: Granta Books ISBN: 1847088023 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 271
Book Description
Lynsey Hanley was born and raised just outside of Birmingham on what was then the largest council estate in Europe, and she has lived for years on an estate in London's East End. Writing with passion, humour and a sense of history, she recounts the rise of social housing a century ago, its adoption as a fundamental right by leaders of the social welfare state in the mid-century and its decline - as both idea and reality - in the 1960s and '70s. Throughout, Hanley focuses on how shifting trends in urban planning and changing government policies - from Homes Fit for Heroes to Le Corbusier's concrete tower blocks, to the Right to Buy - affected those so often left out of the argument over council estates: the millions of people who live on them. What emerges is a vivid mix of memoir and social history, an engaging and illuminating book about a corner of society that the rest of Britain has left in the dark.
Author: Stephen Bates Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1781852553 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 335
Book Description
Britain in 1846 was a nation in the grip of dramatic change. As the Industrial Revolution reached its height, people were flooding from countryside to city; the railways were spreading; starvation and destitution existed alongside immense wealth and power, generating profound social tensions. And seismic change was afoot in the world of politics. Parliament's repeal of the protectionist Corn Laws eroded the powers of the landowners and ushered in an age of free trade that would form the basis of Britain's future wealth and industiral prosperity. Stephen Bates paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of a pivotal year in British history – and of a society on the cusp of modernity.
Author: Zupagrafika Publisher: Prestel Publishing ISBN: 9783791383002 Category : Brutalism (Architecture) Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Appealing to fans of architecture, this ingeniously designed book lets you build replicas of some of London's iconic post-war concrete structures while learning about their place in the city's architectural history. In this fun and intellectually stimulating book, readers can recreate a number of London's most renowned Brutalist buildings. Opening with an informative history of the origins and philosophy of Brutalist architecture, the book then focuses on 9 buildings, including the Barbican Estate, Robin Hood Gardens, Balfron Tower and the National Theatre. The first part of the book looks at the significance of each of these buildings, with a short chapter on each, complete with texts and images. The second part of the book consists of a series of 9 pre-cut and folded buildings, printed on heavy card stock, that readers can detach and construct with easy-to-follow instructions. At once fun and informative, this unique book offers a challenging and entertaining approach to architecture.
Author: John Grindrod Publisher: Hachette UK ISBN: 1473625033 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 429
Book Description
'Evocative and intelligent' Guardian Discover the secret history of our green belts.The first book to tell the story of Britain's green belts, Outskirts is at once a fascinating social history, a stirring evocation of the natural world, and a poignant tale of growing up in a place, and within a family, like no other. 'Illuminating and enjoyable' David Kynaston, Spectator Green belts are part of the landscape and psyche of post-war Britain, but have led to conflicts at every level of society - between conservationists and developers, town and country, politicians and people, nimbys and the forces of progress. Growing up on 'the last road in London' on an estate at the edge of the woods, John Grindrod had a childhood that mirrored these tensions. His family, too, seemed caught between two worlds: his wheelchair-bound mother and soft hearted father had moved from the inner city and had trouble adjusting. His warring brothers struggled too: there was the sporty one who loved the outdoors, and the agoraphobic who hated it. And then there was John, an unremarkable boy on the edge of it all discovering something magical. In the green belts John discovers strange hidden places, from nuclear bunkers to buried landfill sites, and along the way meets planners, protestors, foresters and residents whose passions for and against the green belt tell a fascinating tale of Britain today.
Author: John Burrowes Publisher: Random House ISBN: 1780573383 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 233
Book Description
Few cities in the world abound with so many extraordinary stories as Glasgow. The city has been the silent witness to some of the most significant events of the past century, from major triumphs to cataclysmic calamities, and the best of these anecdotes are compiled here to form this unique collection. Amongst the notable events revisited are the launching of the Queen Mary, which captivated the city's inhabitants in 1934, the victorious 16-month work-in campaign by the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders in the early 1970s, the Ibrox disaster of 1971 and the plague that gripped the Gorbals in 1900. Some of Glasgow's most successful people are also covered, including Clydeside revolutionary John Maclean, founder of the Barras Maggie McIver and the inimitable Billy Connolly, whose humour and colourful personality are synonymous with the city. From the Battle of George Square to the bravery of the Glasgow people during the Blitz, Great Glasgow Stories provides an all-encompassing view of the city throughout the eras.
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Author: John Grindrod
Author: John Grindrod
Author: Peter Chadwick
Author: Anthony King
Author: John Grindrod
Author: Lynsey Hanley
Author: Stephen Bates
Author: Zupagrafika
Author: John Grindrod
Author: John Burrowes