The guide explains why London is the way it is. It helps you link the historical and contemporary into a single pattern of significant places, spaces and buildings. It highlights old and new as a lively and vibrant pattern of on-going creative activity rooted in established urban patterns.
London is one of the world’s greatest cities, and its architecture is a unique heritage. The Tower of London is an urban castle unique in Europe, St Paul’s is one of the world’s greatest domed cathedrals, and the squares and crescents of the West End inspired Haussmann’s Paris. In London, it is the variety of the streets, buildings, and parks that strikes the visitor. No king or government has ever set its mark here. Private ownership has shaped the city, and architects have served a wide variety of clients. London’s Classical era produced an elegant townscape between 1600 and 1830, but medieval, Tudor, and Victorian London were a potpourri of buildings large and small, each making its own design statement. In London: An Architectural History Anthony Sutcliffe takes the reader through two thousand years of architecture from the sublime to the mundane. With over 300 color illustrations the book is intended for the general reader and especially those visiting London for the first time.
A revised and expanded, authoritative guide taking the reader through almost 2,000 years of architectural achievement From the remains of the Roman amphitheater to the soaring glass structures of the 21st-century city, London offers a unique architectural experience. Each chapter in this guide contains readily accessible examples of buildings of every period and sets them in their historical contexts. It includes nine fully described walks and easy-to-follow maps to accompany a saunter through the fascinating story of the city's architecture. Also featured are some of the many shops, bars, and restaurants of architectural interest, making this an essential resource for both Londoners and visitors alike.
Two expert writers, Sujata Burman and Rosa Bertoli, have joined forces with architectural photographer Taran Wilkhu to create an unashamedly confident guide to the must-see buildings in London, spanning all the architectural styles: from Art Deco to postmodern, brutalist to futuristic. Over 50 buildings are included alongside four maps with guided city walks.
What can you do with a degree in architecture? Where might it take you? What kind of challenges could you address? Architects After Architecture reframes architecture as a uniquely versatile way of acting on the world, far beyond that of designing buildings. In this volume, we meet forty practitioners through profiles, case studies, and interviews, who have used their architectural training in new and resourceful ways to tackle the climate crisis, work with refugees, advocate for diversity, start tech companies, become leading museum curators, tackle homelessness, draft public policy, become developers, design videogames, shape public discourse, and much more. Together, they describe a future of architecture that is diverse and engaged, expanding the limits of the discipline, and offering new paths forward in times of crisis. Whether you are an architecture student or a practicing architect considering a change, you’ll find this an encouraging and inspiring read. Please visit the Architects After Architecture website for more information, including future book launches and events: architectsafterarchitecture.com
This book presents a selection of the most exciting building projects in London since the year 2000. The first decade of the twenty-first century has marked out London as arguably the pre-eminent international city for innovative and ambitious architecture, with the design and construction of imaginative buildings of all types. Projects range in size and budget from such landmark structures as the 'Gherkin’ (30 St Mary Axe) and the forthcoming 'Shard’ (London Bridge Tower) to such cultural projects as the Young Vic theatre and the new Tate Modern extension; from offices, schools and hospitals to shops and private houses. With more than 650 stunning photographs, drawings and renderings, and critical texts by well-known architecture writer Kenneth Powell, this is a detailed and authoritative portrait - indispensable to professionals and the public alike - of a world city avid to embrace the best of the new.
London is a living architectural exhibition. This tried and trusted portable guide will help you to find your way around one of the world’s most exciting cities, offering architectural experiences and insights into London’s finest contemporary architecture. features more than 400 buildings including key venues from the 2012 Olympic Park provides a superb full colour photographic record of the capital aids navigation of the city’s greatest architectural sights with a clear map-based format considers each district in turn, identifying the buildings most worthwhile visiting, and providing essential information and insights into each includes a large scale, portable, lightweight map, for use when walking the tours Jam packed with the author’s intimate architectural experience and knowledge of London’s buildings, the accompanying commentary is both lively and entertaining, providing all the information that any architectural explorer will need to appreciate and experience London’s contemporary architecture.
During the Industrial Revolution, Britain was at the forefront of bridge innovation. Pioneering designers such as George and Robert Stephenson, Thomas Telford and Isambard Kingdom Brunel created Britain's rich bridge heritage that features many world firsts and we can learn much from their ground-breaking designs. Written by an experienced bridge architect, this book includes an introduction to bridge aesthetics; it gives an outline of British bridge development and advice on parapet treatment and bridge lighting. This book offers a comprehensive overview of how the best of British bridges marry aesthetic considerations with engineering ingenuity.
The pioneering British modernist architect Richard Seifert was one of the most successful and influential architects of his generation. During the 1960's and 1970's he changed the face and fabric of London with a powerful series of highly visible and uncompromising brutalist buildings, including Centre Point, the Nat West Tower, and King's Reach Tower. Seifert is often described as a modernist version of Christopher Wren in terms of his impact upon the capital, as he built hundreds of towers, office buildings, and hotels in London, and other parts of the UK and internationally. An enigmatic and determined figure, Seifert achieved much in his lifetime, yet has remained a controversial and divisive figure due to his unwavering commitment to modernism. Both Seifert and his buildings have been attacked, with his work described as "notorious" for its brutalist aesthetic and an arguable lack of contextuality. Yet in recent years there has been a noticeable upsurge of interest in brutalist architecture along with the beginnings of a re-evaluation of Seifert's extraordinary contribution to mid-century architecture and design; a number of buildings by Seifert and his associates have been listed in recognition of their architectural importance. Beautifully illustrated, this book records, analyzes, and celebrates a considered selection of Seifert's buildings, with the most extensive survey of his work to date.