EXPANDED PRACTICE 01

We went on a group trip to Portobello to gather research and content to then work from in our sketchbooks. Though the market was interesting and lively I found the bold towering Trellick Tower really took my breath away. Trellick Tower was designed in a brutalist style by Erno Goldfinger and was completed in ’72. The tower is now grade 2 listed and is 98m tall, in this area it really does stand out like a sore thumb. I was drawn to the building as I have always liked seeing it in music videos and film as it seems to crop up often. Following the trip I began to really research the history of Trellick Tower to understand its wider context. The 1950’s was a decade that set out to transform Britain. After the Destruction of War, It was time for a fresh start and for new ideas to go to the forefront. There was a real sense of hope for the future. There was a determination for architects to rebuild the towns and cities in a bold new style and Trellick Tower represents this in an incredible way. I wanted to gain a better understanding of Brutalist Architecture so I continued to look at the work of Golderfinger. Trellick Tower as with many examples of Brutalism has a rough, industrial look to it, it feels almost cold and uninviting. 

From an architectural point of the view it exposes the structures rather than concealing them as other buildings do. Upon researching Trellick Tower I came across the fact that it was the building that inspired J.G. Bullard’s 1975 dystopian novel ‘High Rise’ which has recently been made into a brilliant film. This link forced me to think about the kinds of people that live here and what their lives may be like. Using some of the poetry of Kate Tempest’s and some of my own ideas I began to create these little stories of lives lived in Trellick


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