Brunswick Centre
TheBrunswick Centreis a grade IIlistedresidential and shopping centre inBloomsbury,London,England.It is located betweenBrunswick SquareandRussell Squareand is administratively in theLondon Borough of Camden.[1]
Planning and design
[edit] | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2019) |
The centre replaced streets of run-down Georgian era terrace housing.[2]It was designed byPatrick Hodgkinson[3][4]in the mid-1960s, based on studies byLeslie Martin.[5]It was initially planned as a private development at a time when private,mixed-use developmentin the UK was rare. Building started in 1967 and was completed in 1972,[6]though the building fell some way short of its intended size. The original plan extended up toEuston Roadbut theMinistry of Defencewould not release the site of a building they leased for use by theTerritorial Army(and that still stands next to the Centre today).[citation needed]
After failing to attract sufficient private buyers on time, the residential section was leased to theLondon Borough of Camdenfor use ascouncil housing,while the developer retained ownership of the structure and shopping areas.[citation needed]The exterior of the building was never painted[7]because theBoroughcould not afford to complete work on the building after they took control. In Hodgkinson's design, the blocks would have been painted cream,[8]a shade typical of the Georgian period, as a homage to the terraced houses that previously stood on the site and those that still surround it.[citation needed]
21st century
[edit]
Despite being widely disliked by those who are unsympathetic to modernist architecture[citation needed],it waslisted Grade IIon theNational Heritage List for Englandin 2000.[9] By this time, however, many of its shop premises were unoccupied. Plans for renovation had repeatedly been blocked by residents' committees but in November 2002, the £22 million project began. This included the painting of the blocks in their originally-planned colour and the commissioning of artistSusanna Heronto introduce water features to the central space.[10][3]The major work was completed in late 2006[7]with the opening of branches of several high street chain stores and restaurants.[11]The dual management has caused problems though, as the landlord restored the structure of the estate but the council is responsible for maintenance of the residential properties[6]– so while the concrete structure was restored, the windows remained untouched, detracting from the overall aesthetic of the development. In 2007, the council started work on replacing the windows.
Now referring to itself as The Brunswick, the centre contains 560 flats, various shops, cafés and restaurants, aWaitrosesupermarket, and aCurzon cinema.
Appearances in popular culture
[edit]The centre is regularly used as a location for films,[8]TV, photography and music videos includingAlexei Sayle's Stuff, The Comic Strip,Crime Traveller,Gangster No. 1,the BBC's skateboarders trailer and Egg Card's guinea pig advertisement.
- Jack Nicholsonstrolls along the concourse and down the main staircase (now demolished) in the 1975 filmThe Passenger.
- The 2022 series set in theStar WarsuniverseAndorfilmedCoruscantscenes at the centre.
- Mansun's music video for "Wide Open Space" was filmed at the centre.
- Lodgerwrote a song dedicated to the building.[12]
See also
[edit]- Alexandra Road estate– of similar ziggurat design byNeave Brown
- Balfron Tower
- St George's Fields (Bayswater)
References
[edit]- ^Davis, Maggie (17 October 2006)."Brunswick Centre".Timeout.com. Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2012.Retrieved16 August2013.
- ^Rose, Steve (23 October 2006)."Scrubs up beautifully".The Guardian.Retrieved4 January2019.
- ^ab"Architecture & Design".Blueprint Magazine. 4 September 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 4 September 2013.Retrieved16 August2013.
- ^"Patrick Hodgkinson (1930-2016)".
- ^Property (24 October 2006)."Bloomsbury set to turn a new page".The Daily Telegraph.Archived fromthe originalon 12 November 2012.Retrieved16 August2013.
- ^ab"Brunswick Centre | London | The Academy of Urbanism".5 March 2018.
- ^abRose, Steve (23 October 2006)."Steve Rose on the renaissance of the Brunswick Centre".the Guardian.
- ^abLovatt, Jane (23 March 2003)."Interiors: The Brunswick Centre".the Guardian.
- ^Historic England,"1-187a O'Donnell Court, 1-212a Foundling Court, Renoir Cinema, shops (The Brunswick Centre), basement car park, and attached ramps, steps and studios (1246230)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved9 March2020
- ^"Susanna Heron".Susanna Heron. 27 March 2007.Retrieved16 August2013.
- ^"Brunswick Centre Flats Prone To Flooding".Londonist.10 March 2010.
- ^"London's Top Brutalist Buildings".24 May 2012.
Further reading
[edit]Elain Harwood,A Guide to Post-War Listed Buildings,B.T. Batsford and English Heritage, 2003.
External links
[edit]
Media related toBrunswick Centreat Wikimedia Commons
| Buildings |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Squares and parks | ||
| Roads | ||
| History | ||
- 1972 establishments in England
- Buildings and structures completed in 1972
- Buildings and structures in Bloomsbury
- Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden
- Brutalist architecture in London
- Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Camden
- Shopping centres in the London Borough of Camden
- Housing estates in the London Borough of Camden
- The Twentieth Century Society successful interventions
- Ziggurat style modern architecture