#modernism

Handrail detail, Václav Havel Airport, Prague, 2026

A wooden bannister with an angular corner is shown in the foreground, while another wooden bannister runs diagonally along a dark, marble-patterned wall in the background. The floor is grey with a textured surface, and part of a staircase is visible.

Within literal minutes of the plane touching down, I’ve already spotted:

This handrail
A concrete relief cemetery wall
A multi-storey car park
A glazed motorway stair barrier
A disused office block on a podium

Demolition in progress, Stafford, 2025

The image shows a brick building with tall, narrow, rectangular windows that have no glass, revealing an unfinished concrete ceiling inside. The upper sections of the building show discolouration and grime. The sky above is clear and blue.

Stafford railway station, 2025

A modern railway station with multiple railway tracks in the foreground and a platform with a large concrete building above. There is a footbridge with glass panels, people waiting on the platform, and posters on the walls. Trees and a partly cloudy sky are visible.

A concrete railway station platform with a lift at the centre. Bicycles are parked nearby, and a cyclist with a blue jacket stands beside one. Signs include “NO CYCLING.” Railway tracks and another platform are visible through the yellow-tinted windows.

A close-up view of a wall covered with small square greyish-blue tiles. The tiles have a slightly rough, textured surface, and some areas on the left show discolouration or staining in a brownish tone. The overall pattern appears grid-like and repetitive.

Two people walk away down a long, enclosed pedestrian walkway with frosted windows and blue steel beams. The corridor is brightly lit, with a dark floor, yellow safety lines, and a sign above pointing to “Lifts”.

A blue door set into a concrete wall is partially blocked by an overhead ramp. A yellow warning sign and a no smoking sign are visible on the door. A propped-up yellow platform and a sign with an upward arrow and text are also seen nearby.

Frosted glass wall with vertical panels and blue triangular metal supports. A small green emergency exit sign with a running figure and arrow is mounted on the white wall below. The wooden ceiling is partially visible at the top.

A modern railway station platform with a concrete staircase in the centre, a green and white train stopped in the background, and a person standing near the train doors. Overhead lights and signage are visible under the wooden roof.

Three tall, narrow windows with frosted glass let in diffused light, surrounded by wooden panelling. The surrounding room is dark, highlighting the bright, vertical rectangles of the illuminated window panes.

A narrow metal walkway with a blue door at the end, bordered by yellow and black hazard stripes above. The walkway is flanked by concrete and railings with orange handrails, located inside a car park with some daylight visible outside.

A modern railway station with concrete and glass architecture, featuring a glass-enclosed pedestrian bridge above railway tracks, platforms below with people and bicycles, and a square tower structure in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

The Ivory Peg, Chelmsford, 2025

A modern, white, wave-shaped building with large windows and metal railings houses a Waitrose shop. Hanging flower baskets decorate the exterior. People walk outside, and a bus approaches on the sunny street lined with clouds in the blue sky.

Wetherspoon pub in a former department store.

Renold Building, Manchester, 2025

A tall, modern white office building with large glass windows stands under a cloudy grey sky. Three cars, including a yellow one, are parked in front. Another white building and a green-roofed structure are visible in the background. Trees line the scene.

A tall, modernist white building with many windows and a zigzag side façade is seen under a cloudy sky. Snow is lightly falling. The letters “SYSTEM” are displayed vertically on the left side. Other buildings are partially visible on the sides.

A modern, multi-storey concrete building has large glass windows and a protruding glass stairwell. The word “ASTER” appears in black letters on the upper left corner. A leafy green tree partially obscures the lower left of the structure. The sky is grey.

I was having a lovely time mooching around Manchester on a workday… until the heavens opened.

College Bank / Seven Sisters, Rochdale, 2025

Several tall, rectangular blocks of flats stand against a cloudy sky. In the foreground are trees, bushes, and a lawn with large rocks. A red car is parked on the road, and a building sign reads HALL COLLEGE on the left.

A low-angle view of a brown brick block of flats, showing several storeys with rows of rectangular windows and balconies in the centre. The sky above is cloudy and the branches of a tree are visible in the top right corner.

A tall, dark-brown concrete block of flats with many balconies and windows stands against a cloudy, overcast sky. Green trees are visible at the base in the foreground, and the building appears slightly weathered.

A cloudy day showing two tall, dark high-rise block of flats with many windows. A white car is driving along a curved street in the foreground, with trees and a few low buildings around the towers. The sky is grey and overcast.

In 2025 an independent structural survey deemed all seven towers unsafe, leading to plans for full evacuation in the coming months and growing uncertainty over the estate’s future.
College Bank, Wikipedia

I was reminded to dig this out of the photo library by this week’s West Country Modernism round-up. The Moneycentre (MWT, 1975), over the years home to various financial and insurance institutions, survived a demolition threat in 2018, changed hands multiple times, and has now been purchased by Homes England.

My own interest in architecture has only developed in the last few years, but clearly something attracted me to it back in 2021 – perhaps the geometrical simplicity of the tiled walls and tinted windows, as seen in this sunlit shot.

76 – 80 Deansgate, Manchester, 2025

A city street with modern and older buildings. Visible venues include BE AT ONE bar with black signage, a bright blue restaurant with pink and red details, and other shops. People walk on the pavement. The sky is clear and the road has bollards.

Pinned by manchesterhistory.net as being circa 1930, which feels about right. At least in the main part of the building, the windows appear to have been refurbished, but retain their original charm and slender frames.

The manchesterhistory.net post references historical photos of the building, but the links have broken – here are the updated links for 1938 and 1976.