Modernist Delights

William Penny’s Almshouses, Lancaster, 2025

Check out the concrete planters beneath the windows!

A three-story apartment building with rectangular windows and a flat roof sits behind a sloped grassy lawn. Potted plants are visible on window ledges. Bare tree branches frame the image above, and an old brick wall and metal gate are in the foreground.

New Century House, Manchester, 2020

The image shows modern buildings with large glass windows and metal frames. A glass walkway connects two structures. The sky is overcast, casting a grayish light on the scene. The architecture is geometric with clean lines and a minimalist style.

Lancaster, 2025

I’ve had wineeeee at the French restaurant, so this is all you’re getting. The photo came out kinda neat though.

A wet, winding path is illuminated by street lamps at night. The trail is bordered by trees and foliage, with fallen leaves scattered along the edges. The scene appears slightly blurred, emphasizing the damp, quiet, and mysterious atmosphere.

Late 90’s/early 00’s technology, design, and marketing were all so weird in a very specific way. It’s a shame we lost that. 404 Media details the release of the Nokia Design Archive. I enjoy this one particularly:

A man on a couch asks a woman, “Can I use your wallet, darling?” The woman looks confused, pointing to a thin, foldable digital screen labeled wallet. Below, the foldable device is shown in various configurations and use cases with descriptive text. — *Tomahawk, presentation, 2000. Nokia Design Archive has been made possible by donations from Microsoft and designers.*

Is everything OK at home, Nokia?

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CIS Tower, Manchester, 2020

Two modern skyscrapers with glass and steel facades rise against a clear blue sky. The buildings feature vertical and horizontal grid patterns, reflecting sunlight and nearby structures in their windows. The perspective is from ground level looking up.

Williamson Power Station, Lancaster, 2025

Large, abandoned red-brick industrial building with tall cylindrical smokestack, surrounded by fences and overgrown grass. The sky is partly cloudy with golden sunlight breaking through. Foreground shows a cracked, empty road and construction signs near the fence.

Now derelict Williamson Power Station, Lancaster. Once used to supply power to the city’s linoleum factory, it has more recently been used for illegally storing compacted waste, which set alight in December 2023. Following the days-long fire and the operation to extinguish it, it now stands mostly empty, fire-damaged but no less immense.

More information and pictures available on the Lancaster Civic Vision website, for those interested.

The modern and old in Manchester, 2024

A yellow and blue train passes through an urban area, framed by a rusted metal bridge structure. In the background, tall modern buildings rise above red-brick warehouses and green trees under a cloudy sky.

Lloyds Bank, Lancaster, 2024

A three-story, gray stone building with six windows above a green sign that reads LLOYDS BANK. The bank entrance is lit and features glass doors. An ATM is on the left side beside the doors. The sidewalk is empty, and dusk light is visible.

About as well photographed as possible, after orthodontic treatment, and with a bag of apples in my hand.

On The First Issue Of Vogue Polska

For something a bit different today: the cover of the first issue of Vogue Polska. The Palace of Culture and Science is just completely arresting to see in real life, originally an unwanted Soviet gift, it somehow has a might incomparable to more modern skyscrapers. I love this moody cover which features it front-and-centre.

Two women in stylish black coats and high heels pose confidently by a vintage black car, with one leg forward. They stand in front of the towering Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw on a gray, snowy day. The words “VOGUE Polska” are at the top. — Juergen Teller, 2018.

I also can’t resist quoting this section from its’ Wikipedia article:

A number of nicknames have been used to refer to the palace, notably Pekin (“Beijing”, because of its abbreviated name PKiN), Pajac (“clown”, a word that sounds close to Pałac), and the “Drunk Confectioner’s Nightmarish Dream” (koszmarny sen pijanego cukiernika), attributed to poet Władysław Broniewski. Other nicknames include the “Syringe” (strzykawka), the “Elephant in Lacy Underwear” (słoń w koronowych gatkach), the “Russian Wedding Cake” (ruski tort) and “Stalin’s rocket” (rakieta Stalina), as well as more pejorative appelations like “Stalin’s dick” (chuj Stalina).

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