Modernist Delights

Williamson Power Station, Lancaster, 2026

An abandoned red-brick industrial building stands silhouetted against a vibrant sunset with pink and orange clouds. A tall chimney rises from the side, and a metal security fence encloses the gravel car park and overgrown path in the foreground.

🪧 Days Without Posting Williamson Power Station: 0.

Derelict shopfront, Minoritská 472/8, Brno, Czechia, 2026

A weathered clothing shop shopfront with the red sign ELEGANCE DÁMSKÁ MÓDA in the window. Mannequins display shirts behind the glass, while the surrounding beige building façade is covered in graffiti and stickers near street level.

A tall, narrow building features a cream-coloured facade with ornate gold masks and brick accents between three storeys of windows. At street level, a clothing shop with red window signage and a grey retractable awning sits between neighbouring buildings in a city street.

On the ground floor of this building lies a womenswear shop, presumably defunct, covered in graffiti. Looking back at old Street View imagery, the condition of the building began to deteriorate around 2011, which is surprising as I found other buildings around this one to be clean – so perhaps it’s just a lack of maintenance that has allowed this one to languish.

The floors above the shop are actually very presentable. The Brno Architecture Manual, where the building is listed as the apartment building of Charlotte Deutsch, designed by Maximilian Leopold Matzenauer and built in 1904, notes the “facade is adorned with rich stucco Art Nouveau decoration”. The grape motifs perhaps relate to the Deutsch family distillery, which itself has recently been converted into shared offices and spaces for cultural and educational events.

The note above the door, presumably penned by the disgruntled residents of the apartments above, leaves no room for doubt: “This is not a toilet! Stop pissing and shitting here!”

Palác Alfa, Brno, Czechia, 2026

The façade of a modernist building features a grid of white rectangular panels and multiple rows of windows. The ground floor has large glass shopfront windows displaying hanging plants and the text Kadeřnický Salon printed on the glass.

A street view in a city centre shows a modern glass-fronted office building nestled between two older, cream-coloured buildings. A blue sign reading SKY ICE BAR hangs on the left corner, whilst pedestrians and a person walking a small dog stroll along the stone-paved pavement.

Sometimes, a building captures my attention for reasons that aren’t always immediately obvious.

Palác Alfa is an inter-war complex of retail and housing in the functionalist style, designed by Czech architect Bohuslav Fuchs. It is the retail element which interests me the most – an intricately detailed arcade featuring curved glass, metal window frames and balustrades, and a clock to make Preston bus station turn green with envy.

The current interior is primarily a result of post-war reconstruction, with the arcade having been severely damaged during the war. Original functionalist details have also been restored during later reconstructions, such as when the original cinema in the basement was adapted for use by the HaDivadlo theatre.

I didn’t enter the arcade when I visited because I didn’t realise what awaited me inside, but there are great photos of the interior on the Alfa Passage website.

Road underpass, Brno, Czechia, 2026

Two metal, cage-like structures with angled, glass-panelled roofs stand along a paved road. They are surrounded by patches of green grass under a bright, partly cloudy sky, with a blank circular traffic sign on a pole visible in the foreground.

Charles Street multi-storey car fortress, Manchester, 2026

A multi-storey concrete car park features a central dark brick stairwell with bright blue metal stairs. A black hatchback is parked at the base, and graffiti marks the wall near a closed metal shutter. The sky above is bright with wispy clouds.

A vertical brick stairwell tower stands between levels of an open-air concrete car park. Bright blue railings follow the zig-zagging stairs, which are marked by layers of graffiti. A thin mesh fence partially covers the ground level, and a cloudy blue sky sits above.

Heard this week that demolition of this one has begun, or rather, “there’s chunks missing out of it,” in my boyfriend’s parlance. The MEN reports it’s set to be replaced by student housing “inspired by nearby listed modernist icon, the Renold Building” — which means it’s going to be clad in white, in short.

This one holds a special place in my heart, having featured in the first post on here.

Sídliště, Brno, Czechia, 2026

A long, multi-storey block of flats features a colourful facade of alternating turquoise, orange, and light green panels. It sits behind a grassy park with young trees, paved walking paths, and a bright blue sky with scattered clouds above.

A multi-storey terraced flat complex with light-coloured walls and tiered balconies stands under a bright blue sky. A paved walkway leads through a landscaped area with manicured hedges and trees in the foreground.

Three tall block of flats with yellow, brown, and grey facades rise above a landscaped park. In the foreground, a wooden footbridge curves over a small pond, where a couple stands looking at the water. Green trees and rolling hills surround the buildings under a blue sky.

Two tall blocks of flats frame a view of a green valley under a bright, cloudy sky. In the foreground, a car park filled with various cars sits among leafy green trees, while a smaller, long block of flats stands in the distance.

Heating plant, Brno, Czechia, 2026

A dark grey Subaru hatchback is parked on a dirt road in front of an industrial building with weathered red corrugated metal walls and tall frosted-glass windows. Two metal chimneys extend from the roof against a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

A weathered, orange-panelled industrial building stands under a bright blue sky, with three cars parked in front of its large sliding doors covered in graffiti. Overgrown bushes and a parking sign labelled ZONA E occupy the foreground, with a block of flats visible in the distance.

Palác Morava, Brno, Czechia, 2026

A multi-storey corner building with a red-brick façade and a white stone-clad corner section stands at a city intersection. The ground floor features shopfronts with green frames and Sklizeno signs, while tram tracks curve across the foreground under a cloudy blue sky.

A curved block of flats with a red-brick and white-tiled façade stands against a blue sky with scattered clouds. The street-level shopfronts feature signs for Utopia Čajovna, Ryor, and a Fitness 2000, with cars parked along the pavement in the foreground.

An urban building with a curved façade of red brick and light-coloured concrete stands against a blue, cloudy sky. Multiple rows of windows are visible, and the ground floor features shopfront windows with signs that read Jídelna and Bez lepková. Black trolley wires cross the upper frame.

A multi-storey building with a rounded, red-brick corner façade rises above a street-level commercial area. Shops include a tea room labelled Utopia, a Ryor cosmetics store, and a Fitness 3000 gym, with several parked cars lining the pavement under a bright blue sky.

Palác Morava is a building of two halves – an older 6 storey half (the last 3 pictures here, built 1929), and a newer 4 storey half (the first picture, built 1936).

It’s mainly the older part of the building which appeals to me – it’s a concrete frame clad in attractive decorative patterned brick, and the inward curve of the upper storeys provides visual interest.

The building is surrounded by tram tracks on all sides, which does make it rather difficult to photograph cleanly.

Pohořelec 461/2, Brno, Czechia, 2026

A multi-storey, beige office building with grid-patterned windows sits on a street corner, bordered by older, ornate architecture. At the ground level, white panels cover the base of the building, featuring small advertisements and posters near a few pedestrians walking on the stone plaza.

Centrum department store, Brno, Czechia, 2026

A wide view shows the tall, glass-fronted Centrum building standing in a city square, with CENTRUM in bold red letters on its roof. Pedestrians walk along the paved street in the foreground, flanked by buildings with tan and dark walls under a partly cloudy blue sky.

A modern, grid-like glass office building stands under a bright blue sky, topped with a large red sign reading CENTRUM. The ground floor features a Lidl supermarket entrance, whilst the reflective glass facade mirrors the surrounding city buildings and clouds.

Built in 1930-31 as a building for the shoe manufacturer Baťa — I’ve written about their Centrální sklad obuvi in Zlín before. It was intended to be the first skyscraper in Europe, at 28 floors. Ultimately, construction was stopped at only 8 floors, due to issues with the subsoil and building foundations, and likely the controversial nature of the project as well, as the site was within the Brno Urban Conservation Area. Ah, well, perhaps they should’ve tried building it in the Northern Quarter instead.

In the 1960s, the building was remodelled, losing its’ trademark black and white striped look with a new all-glass facade.

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