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British Gas Engineering Research Station, Killingworth, 2024

A large, modern industrial building with a flat roof and multiple white ventilation structures on top, set against a cloudy sky. The building is cream-colored with dark windows, surrounded by a fence, grass, shrubs, and a paved road in front.
Former British Gas Engineering Research Station, Killingworth by Andrew Curtis, CC BY-SA 2.0 – I foolishly failed to take my own photo.
A modern white building with large, cylindrical ventilation towers on the roof stands under a blue sky. In the foreground, two black wooden picnic tables sit on a green lawn near a curved pathway leading to the building’s entrance.
Modern white and black building with a ramp leading to an underground parking area. Green grass and weeds grow nearby. A lamppost stands on the left, and a road with roundabout markings runs in front. Sky is mostly blue with some clouds.
A glass-enclosed pedestrian bridge connects two modern buildings above a driveway. Below, several white utility trucks are parked. Yellow and white road markings, a red barrier, and a blue sky with wispy clouds are visible.
A modern, box-shaped brown building with large dark windows stands on a green lawn under a partly cloudy blue sky. Two metal staircases lead to doors on the side. White industrial structures and trees are visible in the background.
A modern building with dark, rectangular walls and large glass windows stands beside a grassy lawn. A glass-sided external staircase rises along the side. Trees, including a bare one, border the lush green lawn under a partly cloudy blue sky.

The grade II* listed former British Gas Engineering Research Station in Killingworth had us pawing at the fences like we were all Eric André at the DNC.

Things to enjoy:

  1. Block A, the main Engineering Research Station.
  2. The archway over the moat leading to the entrance.
  3. Car park ramp.
  4. Bridge leading to block B.
  5. Block B, the later addition of the School of Engineering.
  6. Detail shot of the glass-balustraded staircases to the first floor of block B.

If anyone has a key to the gate, or a torch and some wire cutters, let me know!

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On the beauty of concrete

This is an interesting look at how the reduction in ornament in modern buildings is the result of a change in culture, rather than economics. I’m not entirely convinced (it feels like the writer hit the word limit before he finished his argument) but the explanation of advancements in mechanical carving and casting in the middle is interesting.

The beauty of conrete – Works in Progress
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Killingworth Telephone Exchange, 2024

A modern, elevated building with gray concrete and glass walls sits on thick pillars. A spiral staircase leads to a door on the side. People stand nearby on a grassy area, with a black metal fence and shrubs in the foreground. Red brick houses are visible in the background.
A modern, gray concrete and brick building with tall windows sits above a sloped support wall. A person in a brown jacket and jeans walks on the green grass under a cloudy sky. Some bushes grow near the buildings base; a parking lot is visible in the distance.
A close-up of a gray building exterior featuring pale brickwork, a central tall window, two smaller vents, textured dark panels, and a slanted concrete support wall at the base with a small vent, photographed from ground level looking up.
A modern building corner with gray rectangular tiles and dark textured trim. The window is large and trapezoidal, set at an angle with a wooden frame, reflecting blue sky. Green moss grows on the lower edge; leafy branches are visible to the left.
A spiral metal staircase leads to a door on the upper floor of a modern, gray brick building. The door opens directly onto the stairs, with no landing. Bushes and a black metal fence are in front of the building, and the sky is overcast.

Let’s go to the North East! Over the next few days I’ll post the highlights of my trip to Killingworth and Newcastle with The Modernist.

First up, the Killingworth Telephone Exchange. The tiny type at the side and the circular concrete staircase (another favourite of mine) are particular highlights!

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Assorted windows, Sheffield, 2024

A large, grey, three-story concrete building with black trim sits on a street corner. The ground floor hosts “Penny Black” pub with orange and green signs. Three people and a man in sunglasses with a cap stand in the foreground under a partly cloudy sky.
A tall, modern office building with a grey and black facade, multiple rows of large windows, and a flat roof stands against a cloudy sky. At ground level, there is a dark entrance and a sign reading St James House.
The image shows the exterior of a gray, windowed building with dirty white tiles. Some windows are covered with black panels, while others are exposed. A single orange curtain is visible in one window. A black streetlamp stands in front of the building.

Assorted windows to finish off the Sheffield trip.

  1. The Royal Mail delivery office located above the Penny Black pub.
  2. St James House, a 1960’s office block (a hardy perennial of modernism).
  3. Side of the old John Lewis building.
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Division House, Sheffield, 2024

Street view of a city with people walking. Foreground buildings have concrete and glass facades, including a shop called MoonKo with a yellow door. The sky is overcast, and there are more modern and older buildings along the busy street.

Division House boasts 39 stylish studios across three floors, delivering a total of 23,713 sq ft of contemporary living space. Conveniently situated in central Sheffield, between Sheffield Hallam University and The University of Sheffield, this development is popular among young professionals and students alike.

– MCR Homes

Who cares! Division House is a concrete (ex-office?) block of rather small proportions, but that makes it all the more charming. Notice the incised triangles in-between the retrofitted windows.

The block next door is good, too, but I couldn’t get a good shot of it. The tower in-between separates the two buildings nicely.

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Charter House, Sheffield, 2024

A three-story, gray and brown building labeled CHARTER HOUSE 14 has large windows, graffiti on the ground floor, and a glass door. The street and curb are in front, with yellow and blue markings on the sidewalk. The building looks rundown.

Lovely big windows, concrete and brick, retro typeface, and basically derelict, what’s not to love.

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On hope in modernism

A white booklet with bold black text on the cover reading ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL. The authors, Simon Phipps & Darren Umney, are listed at the bottom. The booklet rests on a wooden surface with a diagonal grain pattern.
An open magazine on a wooden table displays black and white pages. The left page, titled THE UNIVERSITIES BUILD, features text and three photos of modern university buildings. The right page, THE STUDENT IN RESIDENCE, shows text and a large photo of a concrete building.

Look at what came in the post! 😍 I completely missed this exhibition, but when I found an sample in a gallery a few weeks ago, Leeds University Library Galleries were kind enough to dig out and post to me an original copy of “Another Brick In The Wall”, the exhibition programme filled with a brief history and gorgeous pictures of 1960’s new universities, one of which I went to (although that one was not featured in this exhibition). I’ve already been to Leeds, but Sussex and East Anglia are definitely on my bucket list.

I really enjoyed this passage from exhibition curators Darren Umney and Simon Phipps:

The buildings, and the stories behind their planning and construction, embody a number of concepts that are increasingly scarce: an architectural sensibility which reflects a shared emphasis on social equality; the academic aspiration for a broad holistic educational experience; and a political environment where policies strived to support a sustainable and equitable democracy.

(…)

It is of some comfort that the curation of these buildings and their histories continues. It is however an uncomfortable truth that the aspirational vision of postwar Britain – to create a fairer society and a thriving democracy supported by innovations in design, technology and education – was to be diluted and diverted.

That vision is now often framed as unachievable and utopian. An ideal upheld only by derided stereotypes of the socialist, the bleeding heart, the artist. Whereas it was once held together in an (albeit fragile) consensus, it increasingly seems to be a vision that was based on a currency which is no longer valued and imbued with values that are no longer current.

This is part of the attraction of modernism for me – where it certainly failed in some respects (for various reasons. just and otherwise, better documented elsewhere), it was at least filled with an aspirational vision of hope, although perhaps this is only a nostalgic view.

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John Lewis car park, Sheffield, 2024

A large, gray, concrete multi-story car park with a blank, windowless facade, covered in graffiti at the street level. Several people walk nearby under a cloudy sky. Street signs and barriers are visible at the building’s base.

Pleasingly rectangular car park round the back of the old John Lewis in Sheffield. Angles so sharp I feel like I could cut myself on its’ corners. Tile-mania continues, too!

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