Brutalism by Alexander Clement

Author:Alexander Clement [Alexander Clement]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781847974044
Publisher: Crowood
Published: 2012-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

Sydney Kaye, Euston Tower, Euston Road, London, 1970, following the Miesian tradition more than ten years after Castrol House showing the lasting appeal of this style.

The Economist Building

One of Alison and Peter Smithson’s most celebrated projects, and one of only a few commercial structures the couple built, was that for The Economist newspaper on London’s St James’s Street, completed in 1964. A number of factors set this building apart from the Smithsons’ other work in the mid-1960s, namely scale, materials and form, all of which combined to create an elegantly proportioned cluster block, which presents one of the more restrained examples of early Massive period Brutalism. Tying all this together was the concept of the plaza, a raised platform counteracting the downward slope of St James’s Street and on which the three blocks stood. Through this visitors, residents and workers could walk on a meandering route between St James’s Street and Bury Street with tantalizing views through to the spaces beyond.

The project was initiated by the then chairman of The Economist Newspaper Ltd, Sir Geoffrey Crowther, who wanted to build a new London headquarters with a penthouse for himself on the top floor. The Smithsons were recommended by Leslie Martin, but Crowther also sought an alternative proposal from George, Trew and Dunn. But in 1960 the Smithsons won the contract and work began. The design incorporated a 53m (174ft), seventeen-floor tower block set back from the main street and containing the magazine’s offices. A smaller block was set in front of this on St James’s Street containing shops and a bank, while a third intermediate block nestled to the side of the main tower on Bury Street next to Boodle’s gentleman’s club and containing apartments.

The unifying theme between the towers was the chamfered corners, which draw the eye into the cloistered spaces within on the raised plaza, the ribbed external framework and the travertine panels set within the exterior faces. These elements combine to give the cluster a distinctive appearance which, rather than being at odds with the surrounding buildings, complements and reflects them while remaining solid and business-like, befitting its function.

Alison and Peter Smithson, The Economist Buildings, St James’s St, London, 1964. The St. James’s Street elevation with the shorter bank building at the front with Economist tower behind.

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