TITLE: Beautifully Brutalist

Brutalist architecture is generally seen as a flawed and failed project but the design ethos - raw concrete, exposed structural elements and some signature artistic flourishes made the buildings stand out. Brutalist architecture found a home in universities, places of worship, municipal and leisure facilities as well as corporate buildings. Many of the residential and social housing developments were conceived as attempts to socially engineer post-war society as well as to quickly and inexpensively rehouse displaced populations. Many of these projects failed due to flawed vision, lack of funding and maintenance, but those which survive and flourish to this day do so because the design ethic has essentially held together, and communities have been created.

The South Bank development in London is a series of galleries and concert venues which has become something of a landmark and a major international arts venue. My intention with this image of the National Theatre is to pay tribute to the designers and show the structure as a thing of beauty and light, even to its detractors.

AUTHOR: David Boam (United Kingdom)