Brutal London: A Photographic Exploration of Post-War London

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Richard Seifart wielded unmatched influence over the London skyline – but not everyone loves the results. Take Centre Point as an example – unveiled in 1966, it was one of the tallest buildings in London… and one of its most hated. Brutal London presents a new photographic look at a side of the capital which has been ignored for too long. The raw concrete and imposing mass of Brutalist architecture is undeniably part of the fabric of London’s landscape – both visual and social – and part of our urban history. Momentum is now growing to celebrate, reclaim and preserve buildings which were once written off or allowed to decay.

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This piece of prime London brutalism also recently caught the attention of Grammy winner Harry Styles, with the brutalist Barbican taking a starring role in his music video for As It Was. To be fair, we always thought One Direction’s original music was also pretty Brutal.Hampstead isn’t all rolling heaths and quaint, cottage feels. It’s also home to a brutalist building with quite an origin story…

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Tsentrosoyuz Building Moscow (Corbusier and Nicoli Kolli) CC BY SA 4.0 Image Ludvig14 Current ProjectsThough it might not be as well-known as Lasdun’s Brutalist masterpiece, The National Theatre, his design for the Royal College of Physicians is one you should see nonetheless. It’s been allowed to decay a little over the years but one pro of building with concrete is that it’s not decayed much. In 2022 Seaforth Land was contracted to repair and refurbish the structure which is expected to be made into fancy offices, and possibly a retail centre. In general (with a few exceptions) this was public sector architecture, fruitfully competing with the equally important Scandinavian 'social democrat' model. It died with the death of corporatist Britain, the rise of private sector Britain and the sell-off of social housing under Thatcherism.