In the 1970s, London prematurely demolished many of the looming Brutalist tower blocks that had been sprouting up around the capital since the mid-1950s. Criticized for their cold, totalitarian appearance (Prince Charles once referred to them dismissively as just "piles of concrete"), the style nevertheless became a popular choice for public institutions, universities, and housing estates. The Polish-Spanish design studio Zupagrafika has paid homage to some of these lost symbols of London's Brutalist heritage, with a collection of five paper cut-out sculptures contained in a new book called Brutal London.
The detailed paper models are of the distinctive 1960s and 1970s tower blocks in the districts of Camden, Southwark, and Tower Hamlet. Some, like the beleaguered Robin Hood Gardens and the Aylesbury Estate, have been torn down. Others, like the Balfron Tower and Space House, are still standing and have since become iconic.
· Brutal London by Zupagrafika [official site]
· Brutal London Turns the City's Architecture into Paper Cut-Out Models [Design Boom]
· All Artistry posts [Curbed National]