The Ruins of the British Welfare State
The subjects of Owen Hatherley’s A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain are architecture and urban development. The book addresses also some broader cultural, political and economic references, as well as personal anecdotes and memories. It includes many encounters with the remnants of the Britis...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Jap Sam Books
2011-06-01
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| Series: | Footprint |
| Online Access: | https://ojs-libaccp.tudelft.nl/index.php/footprint/article/view/744 |
| _version_ | 1798028311474995200 |
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| author | Tahl Kaminer |
| author_facet | Tahl Kaminer |
| author_sort | Tahl Kaminer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The subjects of Owen Hatherley’s A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain are architecture and urban development. The book addresses also some broader cultural, political and economic references, as well as personal anecdotes and memories. It includes many encounters with the remnants of the British welfare state.
As an extension to his blog postings and a sequel of sorts to his previous Militant Modernism, Hatherley’s antagonist here is the semi-official architecture of New Labour, which he terms ‘pseudomodernism’: an unimaginative, inferior, and, in its own specific way, also tacky architecture of white stucco, steel and glass. He attacks the Faustian bargain of Richard Rogers and his allies with neoliberalism, a pact that produces a modernism devoid of social content, reflected by the unimaginative, speculation-driven architectural design. While Hatherley produces the promised indictment of recent British architecture, the book is, at the end of the day, primarily a eulogy to the disappearing postwar architecture he so evidently loves. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:05:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09e1ddbf0e8742ac8f88e8e41b3f2123 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1875-1504 1875-1490 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:05:53Z |
| publishDate | 2011-06-01 |
| publisher | Jap Sam Books |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Footprint |
| spelling | doaj.art-09e1ddbf0e8742ac8f88e8e41b3f21232022-12-22T04:07:46ZengJap Sam BooksFootprint1875-15041875-14902011-06-015210.7480/footprint.5.2.744770The Ruins of the British Welfare StateTahl KaminerThe subjects of Owen Hatherley’s A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain are architecture and urban development. The book addresses also some broader cultural, political and economic references, as well as personal anecdotes and memories. It includes many encounters with the remnants of the British welfare state. As an extension to his blog postings and a sequel of sorts to his previous Militant Modernism, Hatherley’s antagonist here is the semi-official architecture of New Labour, which he terms ‘pseudomodernism’: an unimaginative, inferior, and, in its own specific way, also tacky architecture of white stucco, steel and glass. He attacks the Faustian bargain of Richard Rogers and his allies with neoliberalism, a pact that produces a modernism devoid of social content, reflected by the unimaginative, speculation-driven architectural design. While Hatherley produces the promised indictment of recent British architecture, the book is, at the end of the day, primarily a eulogy to the disappearing postwar architecture he so evidently loves.https://ojs-libaccp.tudelft.nl/index.php/footprint/article/view/744 |
| spellingShingle | Tahl Kaminer The Ruins of the British Welfare State Footprint |
| title | The Ruins of the British Welfare State |
| title_full | The Ruins of the British Welfare State |
| title_fullStr | The Ruins of the British Welfare State |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Ruins of the British Welfare State |
| title_short | The Ruins of the British Welfare State |
| title_sort | ruins of the british welfare state |
| url | https://ojs-libaccp.tudelft.nl/index.php/footprint/article/view/744 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tahlkaminer theruinsofthebritishwelfarestate AT tahlkaminer ruinsofthebritishwelfarestate |