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SPACEPLAY

@space.play

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Artist who sees the beauty of Brutalist Architecture. Sign up to CONCRETE FRIDAY for weekly Brutalist stories, exclusive insights, and weekly missions

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It was one of the first concrete models I ever attempted, and one I’ve returned to again and again.

New street Signal box
Location: Birmingham, UK
Architect: Bicknell & Hamilton
Completed: 1964
Status: Grade II listed, decommissioned

It has stood watch over Birmingham’s railway lines since the 1960s. With its layered concrete massing, deep shadow lines, and fortress-like stance, it remains one of the most distinctive signal boxes ever built in Britain.

#brutalism #signalbox #brutalist by @space.play

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15 hours ago

Process

#brutalism #concrete by @space.play

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2 days ago

The NLA Tower in Croydon, also known as No. 1 Croydon or the “Threepenny Bit Building,” has stood since 1970 as one of South London’s most distinctive high-rises. Designed by Richard Seifert, its faceted concrete form and rhythmic pattern of angled bays give it a sculptural presence that has made it both a local landmark and a national icon of post-war architecture.

A small cast of a tower that remains Croydon’s concrete icon. by @space.play

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3 days ago

I’ve wanted to capture this one for a long time.

Boston City Hall, USA is monumental and uncompromising, its raw concrete form rise above the Bosgob city hall plaza like a civic fortress. Since its opening in 1968, it has divided opinion, earned praise and criticism in equal measure, and stood firm as a symbol of bold public architecture.

A little piece of Boston’s civic heart captured in mini concrete.

#brutalism #bostoncityhall #demoulding by @space.play

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6 days ago

One of my favourite concrete models

Demoulding The Bierpinsel in Berlin, completed in 1976, was designed by Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte as a futuristic tower for restaurants and nightlife. Its name, meaning “beer brush,” came from Berliners who saw its concrete stem and bulbous top as resembling a shaving brush. Its playful form and futuristic detailing make it one of Germany’s most distinctive post-war landmarks.

#brutalism #berlinarchitecture by @space.play

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6 days ago

The Roger Stevens Building at the University of Leeds, designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon and completed in 1970, is one of the most distinctive Brutalist teaching complexes in Britain. With its interlocking lecture theatres, dramatic stair towers, and sculptural forms, it has become an unmistakable landmark of the Leeds campus.

This model was about distilling its complexity. A small cast of a building that made Brutalism part of everyday student life.

#brutalism #leedsuniversity taken in Roger Stevens Building by @space.play

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9 days ago

Brutal, unapologetic, and utterly unique, it has stood watch over Birmingham’s railway lines since the 1960s. With its layered concrete massing, deep shadow lines, and fortress-like stance, it remains one of the most distinctive signal boxes ever built in Britain.

It was one of the first models I ever attempted and one I’ve returned to again and again.

#brutalism #brutalist #birmingham by @space.play

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11 days ago

The National Theatre in London is one of the most celebrated Brutalist buildings in Britain. Its layered terraces and bold concrete forms were designed by Denys Lasdun to create a “theatre of public life” as well as a home for performance.

This model was about finding the balance in complexity. The interlocking volumes, the bold horizontals, the deep shadow lines which each had to work together at a reduced scale.

📷 7 by the great @uhm.publishing

#brutalism #brutalist #nationaltheatre by @space.play

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13 days ago

Forton Services, with its distinctive hexagonal tower and futuristic viewing deck, has been a landmark on the M6 since the 1960s. Known officially as the Pennine Tower, it was designed to give travellers panoramic views over Lancashire and the fells beyond as a rare moment of architectural ambition in motorway service design.

I’ve always loved how unexpected it feels. Capturing the tower’s unusual geometry in miniature was an engineering challenge, ensuring the silhouette stayed true. It’s playful and purposeful at the same time, and I wanted the model to hold both qualities.

#brutalism #brutalist taken in Forton Services M6 by @space.play

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15 days ago

Bonny Street Police HQ

Location: Blackpool, UK
Architect: Lancashire County Architect’s Department
Completed: 1976
Status: Demolished in 2023

The Bonny Street Police HQ served as the main police station for Blackpool for almost fifty years. Its stepped massing and raw concrete gave it a solid. authoritive presence. Demolished in 2023 as part of a wider redevelopment scheme, it remains a point of local memory.

Drone 🎥 by @scrappynw

#brutalism #brutalist #blackpool by @space.play

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16 days ago

The National Theatre on London’s South Bank, designed by Denys Lasdun and completed in 1976, is a vast composition of terraces, towers, and layered concrete planes. Both monumental and intimate, it has become one of the defining works of British Brutalism, at once a cultural stage and an architectural landmark.

This model was about finding the balance in complexity and to feel like a fragment of the whole, still carrying the gravity and drama of the original.

#brutalism #nationaltheatre by @space.play

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18 days ago

Derwent Tower, nicknamed the Dunston Rocket, was an 85-meter Brutalist high-rise in Gateshead, UK, completed in 1972. Architect Owen Luder used deep underground supports due to poor soil, resulting in a futuristic structure with unique exterior pillars and raw concrete. Highly controversial and plagued by maintenance issues, this landmark of mid-century social housing was sadly demolished in 2012.

#brutalism #brutalist #gateshead by @space.play

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19 days ago