Star of Bethnal Green: Keeling House By Denys Lasdun Bethnal Green, London-

Nestled between rows of Victorian terraces, on Claredale Street in London’s Bethnal green, Keeling house was designed by Denys Lasdun and Partners in 1958. Lasdun’s most famous project was the brutalist National Theatre on London’s Southbank. The fifteen-storey cluster block contains 56 maisonettes and 8 studios and is formed of 4 blocks angled round a central shaft containing the services, stairs and lift. The block orginally designed as council housing was grade 2* listed in 1993. In 1999 was renovated and redeveloped by a private developer and the flats are now very desirable.

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Too Cool For School: London Zoo Penguin Pool by Berthold Lubetkin-

Happy world penguin day everybody! In celebration, today’s post features three of my favourite things: Modernism, monochrome and penguins!

Russian architect Berthold Lubetkin, who emigrated to England in the 1930s, was probably most famous for Highpoint, a block of flats in North London. He was a pioneer of the modern movement in Britain and worked on many projects. He designed the penguin pool at London zoo in 1934 which housed the penguins until recently. The  pool is still at London Zoo today and is now grade 1 listed but unfortunately the penguins have been moved to another enclosure.

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(Source: themodernist.co.uk)

Museum Piece: The Minguren Museum by George Nakashima-

The Minguren Museum was completed in 1967. It features a curved thin shell roof, something that Nakashima experimented with throughout his career. The mosaic by Ben Shahn was installed in 1972 posthumously from sketches that he had made. As with all of Nakashima’s architecture the flow between inside and outside spaces is important and these boundaries are blurred. The museum also features a cantilever staircase.

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Stahl and Substance: Stahl House by Pierre Koenig-

Designed in 1960, Stahl house is probably Koenig’s most famous building. The house featured in John Entenza’s Arts and Architecture magazine Case Study House program and was also known as case study house 22. Stahl house is perched high in the Hollywood hills overlooking L.A. and these images taken by Julius Shulman have become absolutely iconic. Making the most of the amazing view was at the top of Buck Stahl’s design brief and it is safe to say that Koenig delivered, designing the house with floor to ceiling windows on three sides.

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Miller Light: Miller House by Eero Saarinen-

Designed in 1953 and completed in 1957, Miller house was commissioned by industrialist and promoter of modern architecture J Irwin Miller. The house situated in Columbus Indiana, was designed around a large central living space, with bedrooms, kitchen and bathrooms all adjoining. The house is filled with light due to the large floor to ceiling windows and the grid of skylights that criss cross the house above the corridors. Alexander Girard was called in to design the interior and he was responsible for the famous ‘conversation pit’ sunken seating area in the living room. The interior is typical of Girard’s playful style but also personalised to the family. The dining table features a fountain as a centre piece and the seats of the Saarinen tulip chairs that surround it, were individually monogrammed for each of the family members. Girard also designed the long shelving unit which spans the width of the house as well as the free standing fireplace. Completing the who’s who of mid century design legends that worked on the house, is Dan Kiley, who designed the gardens.

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Concrete College: Yale Art and Architecture Building by Paul Rudolph-

Designed by the then head of architecture, Paul Rudolph, the Yale Arts and Architecture building was completed in 1963. It is located in New Haven Connecticut. The cast in place concrete building, brutalist in style, was uncommon at the time and probably one of the first brutalist buildings to be constructed in the U.S. Unfortunately only after a few years a fire in 1969 destroyed a lot of the building. The building was renovated after the fire but altered heavily from the original design. There have since been several major renovations changing the original design which have lead to Rudolph disowing the building. These images were taken by Architecture photographer Ezra Stoller of the building in it’s original form before the fire/ alterations.

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Doing It Justice: Brasilia Justice Ministry by Oscar Niemeyer-

Designed in 1962, the justice ministry was one of many buildings Niemeyer designed, for the then new capital of Brazil, Brasilia. The building is surrounded by a moat and water cascades from large concrete gutters suspended from the columns that form the facade of the building. Huge concrete louvres to the sides of the building, shield the internal glass walled ministry form the sun. Roberto Burle Marx, Niemeyer’s long time collaborator designed the water gardens.  

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The Little White Chapel: San Vicente de Paul Chapel By Felix Candela-

Designed in 1959 and completed in 1960, San Vicente de Paul Chapel is situated in Coyoacan, Mexico City. From the outside the wing like roof takes on the form of a bird in flight. The stained glass windows that run from the peak of the roof, almost to the ground, cast a dramatic coloured glow on the interior. The combination of the roof only being supported at several points and the largely glazed outer walls give it an almost weightless quality.  

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Gas Up: Tramway Gas station by Albert Frey-

designed in 1963, the tramway gas station in Palm Springs California was a modernist monument to greet people as they entered the town. Frey was famous for his desert modernism and designed many buildings in Palm Springs. The Gas station was closed in the early 90’s and earmarked for demolition but luckily it was saved in 1998. The building is constructed from concrete blocks and features a large, wing like, cantilevered steel roof.

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Honey Glazed: St John’s Abbey and University by Marcel Breuer-

Breuer designed St John’s Abbey and University in 1953 and it was completed in 1961. Breuer was picked from 12 well known architects in 1950 by the Abbot Baldwin Dworschak who wanted the Catholic Church to be more progressive in their architecture choices. The Abbey is situated in Collegeville Minnesota. The Abbott wanted the church to be an architectural monument to the service of God and Breuer did not disappoint. The huge North side of the building is made up of 540 hexagonal concrete sections, giving the glazed wall a honeycomb like appearance. The freestanding bell tower is a monument in it’s own right and the huge concrete structure, complete with crucifix, greets congregants as they make their way under it and into the church. 

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