Pimples on ‘Phone Boxes

Forget about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. What about pimples on ‘phone boxes?

I saw two today in central London when my acuity was heightened because I was on a Seeing Architecture walk. We started on the South Bank looking at the Royal Festival Hall and moved from 1951 to the Southbank Centre, Hayward Gallery and the National Theatre opened in 1963. What a lot of concrete. Next stop was Somerset House and then Bush House in Aldwych. Did you know it’s named after the American millionaire, Irving T Bush,  who commissioned it in the 1920s? I didn’t. Nor did I know it was the most expensive (per square foot) building in the world when it was built.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the morning was a wander around the LSE looking at the buildings commissioned over the last fifty years: a Richard Rogers and much more.

It’s fascinating looking at buildings but usually my appreciation is blunted by ignorance. Our walk this morning, there were eight of us + Ross, was so interesting because of Ross’s commentary and the facts and opinions contributed by my friends, not always in favour of Brutalism. Ross told us Brutalism comes from the French, béton brut, or raw concrete, something else I didn’t know.

I don’t know why there are pimples on ‘phone boxes. I suppose they might be hiding a little Wifi aerial?