#not modernist still a delight — Modernist Delights

Oxford Botanic Garden, 2025

A view of the inside of a glasshouse showing a metal and glass frame structure. The glass panels are foggy and streaked with water, indicating humidity or recent rain. Some green plants are visible in the lower left corner. The sky outside looks overcast.

A glass glasshouse surrounded by lush green plants sits under a cloudy sky. In the background, a tall, historic stone tower with pointed spires rises above the trees. The scene appears calm and overcast.

Tall, spiky cacti and leafy plants grow inside a large glasshouse with metal framework and glass panes. The sky appears grey outside, and the silhouette of the plants is prominent against the light filtering through the glass roof.

It’s not modernist, I realise that, but I have a weakness for thin-framed aluminium windows, especially where plants are involved.

Central Backpackers Hostel, Oxford, 2025

The photo is set on a city street, capturing the street, pavement, and a single bollard in the middle of the shot, and shows the entrance to a hostel. A square section of a large, white, unassuming brick wall is painted bright baby blue, with yellow and dark red detailing. A dark red diamond above the make-shift entrance arch reads OXFORD BACKPACKERS in a whimsical font.

They could be handing out free concrete in there, you are NOT getting me into a hostel for love nor money.

Aldersgate Court, City of London, 2025

An angular brick 90's housing block. A dark shadow is cast across the rightmost side of it by taller buildings out of view.

This 90’s housing block is by no definition modernist, but the shadows cast in this narrow alleyway were impossible to resist.

On the New Jersey Turnpike

A love letter to a motorway (sorry, turnpike) in the New York Times (gift link) feels as if it was written specifically for me.

“In the interest of good health, digest a few important facts about the potato” — Informational poster for the Potato Marketing Board, likely dating back to the 80’s or 90’s, displayed in a closed cafe in the Kirkdale Shopping Centre, Bradford, 2025.

Moody Rochdale Canal, Manchester, 2025

Not modernist, but I have a sweet spot for canals.

Stockport Exchange Station Car Park, 2024

A multi-level parking garage at night is brightly lit, with rows of parked cars visible through open sides. Streetlights illuminate the foreground, where a person walks near several parked vehicles. The surrounding area appears quiet and clean.

Not modernist, but I like how this one turned out.

Panning across a parkade, Toronto, 1996

David Cronenberg filmed this shot specifically for me.

Modernist album art, 2025

I don’t like the music of Antony Szmierek enough to own his albums in duplicate, but how could I refuse with gorgeous album art like that? This one’s going right in my Forton Services shrine. Nosy greyhound notwithstanding.

A black dog sniffs two vinyl records on a table. Both records are by Antony Szmierek, featuring snow globe artwork with futuristic buildings and colored spheres inside. The left record is numbered 067. A patterned cushion and gray blanket are in the background.

On Nokia’s Weird Y2K Designs

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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