Architecture zines and books

One of my latest obsessions is architecture, particularly of the post-war modernist/brutalist variety, so I’ve been slowly gathering a little collection of books on the subject.

I started with Concretopia by John Grindrod, which is about the rebuilding of post-war Britain. This was a topic I'd got interested in after chatting to a building inspector at work, who had explained a bit about the reasons schools of that era had been built how they had (in terms of the available time, manpower and materials). The author grew up in the same era as I did, and with the same sort of architecture, so this was a fascinating read.

I recently got How to Love Brutalism, also by John Grindrod. I love the cover of Townscape by Gordon Cullen which I found in a charity shop. And my absolute favourite is this one about school science blocks. It combines my nostalgia for this type of architecture with an examination of the science rooms which were part of my childhood and are now a big part of my working life.

I recently started buying some zines by Kate Marsden who I'd been following on Instagram for ages. Although I've not visited Croydon or many of the places featured in her British Buildings zine, they evoke a sense of nostalgia in me because of the elements of the architecture that remind me of my own town.

My second visit to the Christian Aid book sale this year resulted in some finds about post-war and modern architecture. The book about rebuilding Scotland has a bit about nearby Dysart, and the building of new housing there to fit in with the older buildings. This was designed by Wheeler who'd previously worked for the Glenrothes Development Corporation. Dysart is somewhere that I've just recently started exploring and I love the old houses there. 

The Little Houses book by the National Trust for Scotland is really interesting because most of the little houses included are in Fife. It talks about Dysart and how infill housing was created between the existing buildings.