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Photo by Mark McLaughlin. .

10 Best Brutalist Buildings in London

Brutalist Architecture is an example of a minimalist architectural style. The style requires minimum effort in terms of exterior decorations. This is because the blocks that were used in construction were left as they were. This style developed immediately after the war. It was a moment of rebuilding where there was little to no funds. Concrete blocks were cheap and easily available at this point in time hence they became the choice of raw materials.

Brutalist Architecture is characterized by bare structures and glass windows. Of brutalist architecture, Jonathan Foyle said, 鈥淚t is damned by its name which comes from the French, b茅ton brut, or raw concrete, but we use the same word [Brut] to describe Champagne and this perhaps sums up the dichotomy at the heart of this style鈥�. With brutalist architecture, it is a love and hate story. What some see as despicable, others so desperately adore. Here are the 10 Best Brutalist Buildings in London.

1. National Theatre

Photo by Laura Ockel. .

National Theatre, which opened in 1976, is one of London’s most popular brutalist buildings. The building was described by Prince Charles in 1988 as “a clever way of building a nuclear power station in the middle of London without anyone objecting”.

This was a clever way to describe the mass blocks of concrete that make the National Theatre which is a common feature with nuclear power stations that need no exterior decorations. The Barbican Estate has over 2,000 flats and homes. The area was affected by bombings during WWII. An overhaul was done and residential buildings that make up the Barbican Estate were completed by early 1970s.

2. Brunswick Centre

This is a grade two listed residential and shopping center. It was designed by the renowned architect  Patrick Hodgkinson. This building features striking service towers and flying buttresses.

It is such an allure to the extent that it has made several TV and film appearances. Further, the building has had the privilege of having a song written about it by the 90s indie 鈥榮upergroup鈥� Lodger! Quite the impact the building has had.

3. Trellick Towers

Photo by BDS.Photo. .

The equally loved and loathed Trellick Tower stands majestically giving a beautiful view from the west of London. It is just one of those buildings that feature massively in television, music promos and film in addition to appearing on mugs, books and t-shirts.

It was designed by one Erno Goldfinger. Consisting of 217 flats across 31 floors, Trellick Towers was completed in 1972. The main block of the 31 storey tower takes the form of thin slab. This enables all apartments to have windows on either side of the building giving fantastic views of the city to all residents.

4. Alexandra Road Estate

This Grade two listed building is a high-density, low-rise housing project. It was mounted on rubber pads on construction to reduce noise from the busy railway beside it. The building also has very few windows facing the side of the railway tracks. It is presumed that this was also done to reduce the noise from the train passing by. The best view of Alexandra Road Estate is from Abbey Road, just to the west of the estate as it crosses the railway lines.

5. The Barbican

Built in 1976, the Barbican is hosted in a late Brutalist development house. The accompanying Barbican Estate gives one the impression of being in a Brutalist theme park.

In 2003, it was voted the ugliest building in London. However, this might be far fetched from the truth. The tranquil waterside setting, complete with fountains and swaying reeds, renders The Barbican an attractive place. The soaring towers and vast concrete volumes are also nicely contrasted by the warmly-colored tiled paving.

6. Hayward Gallery

Photo by Sam Li. .

The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre. The Hayward Gallery was built by Higgs and Hill and opened on 9 July 1968. Its massing and extensive use of exposed concrete construction are typical of Brutalist architecture.

The building is named after Sir Isaac Hayward, a former leader of the London County Council, the GLC’s predecessor. The Gallery has a strength of character, volumetric complexity, fluidity and robustness which is unparalleled in exhibition spaces in London.

7. 20 Bedford Way

20 Bedford Way is a Grade II listed building that was opened in 1977. It was designed by Denys Lasdun who also built the National Theatre. 20 Bedford Way has a range of meeting and function rooms, including the 930 seater single tier lecture theatre, the Logan Hall.

Interestingly, the building was not well received initially. The 800-ft monumental fa莽ade along the full length of Bedford Way, with its five sentry-like service towers rising to 115 feet, attracted most criticism. William Curtis for instance described it as lacking subtlety and poetry.

8. Centrepoint

Photo by Pavel Nekoranec. .

After it’s construction in 1966, Centre Point represented a beacon of optimism. In the context of a run-down, post-war London, Centrepoint stood out for its innovative architecture and engineering.

However, it remained underused for years. In 2010, it was acquired by developer the Almacantar, which enlisted Conran and Partners to renovate the building. Now the design includes modern apartments, a lavish penthouse and a series of amenity spaces, including a pool and a private lounge/club house area with screening rooms and treatment rooms for residents and their guests.

9. One Kemble Street

This cylinder and box office block is a typical piece of outstanding structures of the sixties. Designed by George Marsh, one of the partners in Colonel Richard Seifert’s massive commercial architecture outfit, the circular building showcased Seifert’s trademark angular modular fa莽ade and muscular supporting columns.

It was also the HQ to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority for many years. Currently, the central London structure – also known as Space House – is being given a new lease of life by developers Seaforth Land and architects Squire and Partners, who are on site with a transformation of the iconic shell into modern office and retail spaces.

10. 78 South Hill Park

Photo by Finn. .

Behind this brutalist building is quite an interesting story. In the 1950s, architect Brian Housden visited Dutch De Stijl master Gerrit Rietveld and, when they parted, Rietveld told Housden he鈥檇 love to see the plans of the Hampstead house he was working on.

Housden said he was mortified, ashamed of the timid designs he had drawn and decided to start over. Rietveld never saw the drawings, but the result is extraordinary 鈥� a brutalist house on the edge of Hampstead Heath that is one of London鈥檚 most surprising and inventive post-war dwellings. The building stands impressively beautiful to date.