A Brutalist Guide
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Brutalism in Britain
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Harvey court on the west side of the Cam is one of many new buildings for colleges of Cambridge university. It was built for Gonville and Caius college, one of the largest and wealthiest colleges to house 100 university students. Its site is away from the traditional medieval quadrangles of the city (sitting on the opposite side of the Cam) and is situated in the area developed by the university in the 1960's. Its neighbours include the monumental Cambridge university Library (built in the 1930's), the iconic History Department and the new faculty of law building by Foster and Partners. Harvey court was built in Sir Leslie Martin's office by Colin St John Wilson and Patrick Hodgkinson and completed in 1962. The court was named after a fellow of the college William Harvey who was a medical pioneer in the seventeenth century.
The main courtyard is actually above ground level on the first floor (hence the steps from the garden with the area beneath used for utilities, storage and common rooms). The design of the building is a modern reinterpretation of the medieval Cambridge quadrangles with the rooms looking out onto the courtyard as they do in traditional courts. It is less conventional in the fact that the courtyard is paved rather than grassed and that it is not enclosed with only three sides facing the courtyard. The fourth side is detached from the main block and faces into a large pleasant garden. The gaps between the two blocks which are not directly joined is taken by stairs which link the garden to the square and the path from the street to square, the main entrance is also located here wedged between the two blocks. 
The inner and the outer exteriors (facing the courtyard and the outside) are a contrast, the former with generous windows whilst the latter has very few and is much more brutalist in its character than the inner courtyard. From the street the building certainly looks brutal and oppressive (the recognisable trade marks of a brutalist building) but from the other side it is much more elegant and pleasing for those who do not favour the style. The stepped terrace gives the courtyard considerable light and makes it feel spacious despite being a rather small site. On the exterior the columns which surround the building on three sides create an arcade, perhaps also taking their inspiration from the medieval cloister walks and quadrangles of Cambridge. The facade is broken. The gradual recess of the upper floors which allows for a terrace is shown on the exterior by the stepped formation of the facade which as it steps back in the courtyard facade it steps forward and is jettied on the exterior facade. The stairs outline on the facade facing the road breaks up the minimalist nature of the building
The building uses bricks extensively through out and heavy glazing in the courtyard. It has been recently restored and modernised with new windows facing the courtyard and the addition of solar panels to the roof. En-suite bathrooms have also been added to each room which makes gives it similar standards to other student accommodation. The project of restoration cost £7.5 million and was completed in 2011 by Levitt Bernstein architects. 
Norwich is one of Britain's most historic cities and much of its post-war architecture has been relatively sympathetic to the character of the city. Elliot house on Ber street is one example of a relatively sympathetic building in a historic environment. It was built on the site of older medieval buildings (similar to those which survive) which survived the war but were subsequently demolished probably due to the increase in demand for office space in the city. Responsible for the design was the architect firm Edward skipper and associates, it was completed in 1975 as commercial premises. The building has four stories (including one cleverly hidden from the street in the roof) of which the recessed fourth story hides the buildings bulk and keeps the height of the street so it does not tower over existing buildings as many other brutalist buildings inevitably do. The building has large spacious windows overlooking the street and an internal courtyard which give the building plenty of natural light. Parking facilities are hidden in the basement with access via the sloping street on the side. 
When travelling along the dock road out of Liverpool there is a surprising structure of concrete which dominates the corner of Bankfield street and Derby road. It surely makes one of the must unusual and unique dock buildings in Liverpool, a city with a rich selection of dock buildings of all ages. The building was built in 1955-57 by the Tate and Lyle's engineering department to store sugar as it came in to the port of Liverpool. The building is of a very simplistic design as was the fashion of the 1950's with a single chamber tunnel vault with entrance and windows at both ends. It has a very elegant form, although the corrugated iron addition to the top of the building detracts from this elegance. The building was listed at grade 2* in 1992 by English Heritage as good example of reinforced concrete parabolic tunnel vaulted storage unit.
The Kingsway tunnel ventilation shafts are two identical structures on the opposite sides of the Mersey which provide ventilation for the Kingsway road tunnel. They were completed in 1971 when the Kingsway tunnel was completed between Liverpool and Wallasey. The two towers dominate the riverfront of north Liverpool and Wallasey sited on the dock road and on the Wallasey promenade respectively. The buildings have a simple composition with a central tower/chimney with two air intakes on each side. The buildings are very utilitarian, being strictly functional with striped back decoration. The buildings are mostly concrete with exposed concrete on the tower (or chimney) and white coloured concreted for the two air intakers. The base is built with a dark brick. Although the buildings may look very simple they actually have subtle curves on the tower and air intakers which are much more pleasing than straight edges. 
The towers were built by the civil engineering firm who built the Kingsway tunnel directly below each structure, Edmund Nuttall Limited (now known as BAM Nuttall Limited). The fact that they were built by engineers rather than architects means that the buildings cannot be contributed to a single architect or even set of architects, just to a anonymous set of engineers therefore there is not a name associated with the buildings other than that of the engineers. The two towers are unlisted but unlikely to be threatened with demolition as they still carry out there original purpose and replacing them would be very expensive. 
Inside the building retains many original features, mostly due to its neglect and lack of modernisation over the years. However as quality materials were used in the building they have lasted well over 40 years. Of particular note in the interior is the flooring, which is Pirelli used in formula 1 tyres, the woodwork which is the African hardwood Iroko and finally the iconic white tiling used through-out the building from Shaws of Darwen. The building is accessed by three subways or via an entrance on the front facade. The interior of the building consists of two long open halls where passengers stand (separated by characterful African wood barriers) and wait for their bus. The two halls are separated by facilities including: toilets, a cafe (with authentic 1970's bright green chairs), information and ticket areas and offices for staff above, Also between the two waiting halls at either end are some small shops allowing one to have a haircut whilst one waits for their bus. Another distinguishing feature of the interior in my view are the original clocks which before the large and unsympathetic signs were put in (out of shot on picture above) dominated the view down the building (see above). Above the bus terminal is four/five stories of car parking which are less distinguished compared with the bus terminal and are not unlikely many other car parks of the era. The stairwells (of which there are four) give access through-out the building and continue the use of white tiling although unfortunately like many other car park stairwells the stench of urine is overwhelming. The 20th century society describes the bus station as one of the most significant Brutalist buildings in the UK.
It has been put forward twice for listing by the 20th century society and English heritage but refused both times. Its lack of legal protection leaves it vulnerable to unsympathetic alteration and demolition. It was first proposed for demolition in 2000 but was fortunately saved when the £700m Tithbarn shopping development collapsed in 2011. However plans for demolition have re-surfaced recently and after a vote was carried by Preston council on the 7th of December 2012 it was decided to demolish the bus station. The main (flawed) argument for demolition is due to the high costs of modernising and maintaining the building. Demolition which could cost £1.8 million could soon begin even though there are no plans for its replacement and the site is earmarked for a bleak open car park which will undoubtedly give the area a more negative image. This seems vaguely reminiscent of the 1960's when fine Victorian buildings were leveled as they were out of fashion and yet the sites laid empty for years sometimes decades. Another argument used has been that it is in the wrong area of the city which is no reason to demolition a perfectly good building, it is a very wasteful approach. 
