The architectural critic Jonathan Meades has said ‘There is nothing so dated as the recent past’. Few people appreciate what the generation before did.
Part of our recent past is Modernist architecture and its perhaps more extreme wing, Brutalism. Controversial perhaps but it still deserves notice as part of our architectural heritage, just as much as Palladian and Gothic.
Bristol has many examples of Modernism, though which ones are Brutalist is perhaps in the eye of the beholder. Now to celebrate this style a Bristol branch of The Modernist Society has just been set up – further details on their Instagram page.
The walk will include an interesting range of buildings including, among others, the Broadmead Baptist Church, Castlemead, the Marriott Hotel and car park, the Bristol Post Building, the Shot Tower and the Dickinson Robinson Building.
Starting at Rupert Street car park, the walk will begin at 11 am and take about one and a half to two hours, finishing at Prince Street Car Park. Places are limited to 40, and it may be organised as two separate groups.
The walk will be led by Andrew Eberlin and Elliott Sargent, founder members of the Bristol Modernist Society. Both are photographers with a passionate interest in all styles of post-war architecture.
Places are £3. Members will be invited by email to book a place.