Modernist Delights

Regent House, Stockport, 2026

A large red-brick railway viaduct spans a city street. In the background, a tall white building labelled Regent House is visible. Cars are parked along the road, and blue sky with scattered clouds is overhead.

In honour of springtime, and the first photography trip of the year last weekend 🙌🏼

Mulberry Street, Manchester, 2025

A two-storey brick building with tall windows, wooden and shingle details, and a decorative green metal archway beside a black garage door. The building is flanked by older red-brick structures and a black streetlamp stands in front. Parked cars line the street.

Walking out of my hotel, I found this charmingly detailed building, featuring horizontal brickwork on the ground floor, and wooden panelling and shingles on the first floor. Appearing to be used as a dwelling, I was surprised to see it amongst much larger, and much older (not least St Mary’s RC Church of 1794, next door but one) buildings, as well as modern 21st century high rises of central Manchester.

Mulberry Passage, which passes underneath it, is also part of a network of passages decorated with public art in tribute to scientist John Dalton.

Tenterfield Street, Preston, 2025

A curved urban road leads downhill into a tunnel beneath concrete and brick buildings. Tall offices and flats rise above, with greenery on the right embankment. Yellow road markings and black bollards guide traffic under a cloudy sky.

Preston Magistrates’ Court, 2025

A modern building with white tiles and large windows; a sign above the entrance reads Magistrates' Courts. Yellow doors and a ramp are visible at the front, with reflections of trees in the glass. The pavement is marked with yellow lines.

A large, windowless white-tiled building with narrow vertical windows on the left side; a white railing runs along the front, with concrete columns below. A leafy tree partially covers the left side, and a pavement and road are visible in front.

A modern, rectangular white building with vertical narrow windows in staggered rows. The facade is covered with rectangular tiles, and part of the upper corner is open. The sky is overcast and grey.

Entrance to a building with double glass doors, a sign reading Area Training Suite First Floor, and a metal plaque on the wall. The plaque lists the County Borough of Preston and council information. The area is shaded and concrete.

Never has the difference between the original and later additions has been so stark as in the frontage of this one, not least in that ill-typeset, ill-positioned sign. Take a look around the back for an example of some much more pleasant signage.

Telephone House, Preston, 2025

A close-up upward view of a tall building facade featuring multiple rows of rectangular blue-framed windows set in beige panels, with vertical structural beams between the window columns. The perspective creates a slightly distorted, diagonal appearance.

A view upward between two buildings shows a dark, mid-century office block with blue-framed windows. The sky is overcast. The building on the right is red brick, while the left building has a white exterior. A CCTV camera and a lamp are visible.

A small green plant grows in a round, textured pot on a concrete surface near a rough, dark stone wall and the corner of a building with blue-framed windows. Another empty pot with sparse grass sits nearby. The scene is overcast and quiet.

A tall, modern building with a central curved stone façade flanked by two rectangular wings featuring large grid-like windows. The sky is overcast with grey clouds, enhancing the stark architectural lines and highlighting the building’s geometric design.

By Building Design Partnership, 1960-64.

Lancaster Telephone Exchange at night, 2026

A dimly lit street corner at night with old stone buildings. Warm light glows from upper windows, while a streetlamp casts a yellow light. Steam or smoke drifts near one building. The street is empty and shadows cover much of the scene.

Preston Telephone Exchange, 2025

A mid-century modern building with red brick and large glass windows stands next to an older blue-panelled structure. The building has four storeys, a covered entrance, and greenery growing in front on the right side.

A concrete shelter with a slanted roof overlooks a weathered bench and brick pavement. Overgrown plants climb nearby fences. In the background, red and grey block of flats and dense green trees are visible under a cloudy sky.

A gated alleyway with brick and concrete walls, topped with barbed wire, features a large white sign reading PEDESTRIANS CROSSING THE YARD MUST EXERCISE CARE. An old metal door and a small warning sign are also visible. A pillow lies on the ground.

A glass skybridge connects two multi-storey buildings, one with red brick and the other with dark panels and blue-framed windows. A round-topped streetlamp stands below; in the background, another pale, windowed building is visible under a cloudy sky.

Humane Building, Preston, 2025

The 18^th and 19^th century site of the Roast Beef Inn, replaced in 1926 by the premises of the “Preston Humane Assurance Collecting Society”. The building features pleasant although deteriorating cream tiling on the first floor of its facade. In 2025, it is the premises of Mr. Booze Express and the Rotana Restaurant & Cafe.

Lancashire Archives, Preston, 2025

A modern building with large, reflective glass windows forms an elevated walkway supported by pillars. Below, a paved courtyard with a bench and planter is visible. Lush green trees and a cloudy sky are seen in the background.

View through a window of a modern building with large glass panels and a rectangular courtyard. The courtyard has paving, parking spaces with yellow lines, pillars, a bench, and trees reflected in the reflective glass façade. Sky is overcast.

A glass wall reveals a concrete staircase with a wooden handrail inside a building. Two wooden benches are in the foreground outside, with some plants between them. Reflections and vertical window dividers are visible on the glass.

Signage outside Penzance railway station, 2025

A grey, overcast day at a stone railway station with tall chimneys. Outside, there are modern metal sculptures shaped like railway signals, benches, signs for buses and the town, and a palm tree. A person with a suitcase walks towards the entrance.

The opposite of minimalism.

Modernist Delights is a blog about modernist and brutalist architecture. Find out more.