This is part 2 in a series. Lost Lagoon Terrace at 845 Chilco in Vancouver, built in 1972, is another example of 1960s/70s modernist apartment architecture. The undulating patterned concrete tile extends the whole way up the front face. Whatever happened to patterned concrete, and why are the 1970s the most reviled of all decades, when the 1980s are so much more deserving of dislike? I realize not everyone likes it – my boyfriend included – but to me the patterned section has aged really well. This abstract ornamentation is typical of modernist concrete architecture from this era, which tended to be minimalist except for one or two subtle decorative features, often with this primitive look. Once affordable, 845 Chilco now contains million-dollar condos, one per floor. With that most exotic of features, private keyed entry off the elevator.

This series is about a style of architecture that repelled me when I was growing up but that I now find strangely attractive. These examples of brutalist modernism are all from Vancouver, but there are equivalents all over North America. The brutalist hand-etched steel front door of this building is a classic in this style. I’ve always found it odd that concrete brutalism tends to be accompanied by this sort of medieval or Middle Earth/Lord of the Rings decorative treatment on metal (and in furniture), but it works. Is it concrete harking back to stone or what exactly? 815 Chilco Street, built in 1970, was designed by Vancouver’s “father of modern architecture,” Charles Burwell Kerrins van Norman (1907-1975).

The building of modernist lo-rise condos and apartments in the 70s was part of a deliberate move on the part of the city’s planning department to do away with a certain type of groovy downtown living in funky, sometimes decrepit (but affordable) Victorian and Edwardian houses. Read about the politics of this history in curator Scott Watson’s Urban Renewal: Ghost Traps, Collage, Condos and Squats. Despite the politics of their introduction into Vancouver, these buildings have the virtue of being solid and livable, and they’re now prized. This building, which sits right next to the large and beautiful Stanley Park, is particularly pricey these days. See the next post for another fantastic building, right next door at 845 Chilco Street. Vancouver, let’s not knock down any more 60s and 70s architecture.

I’m developing a taste for these. There are lots of dinky suburban tract versions of these perforated walls, but when the scale and placement are well thought out, they can be the building’s most arresting feature. This collection is a mix of decorative landscaping walls or actual exterior treatments on buildings. Either way, the fact that they afford both privacy and light is nice. See also the entry on patterned concrete blocks. Above, “the white room” by Dag4 (‘m not sure if that one is concrete, technically, but it’s the same idea). Below, Racquet Club Tract, Palmer & Krisel. Architect: William Krisel. Palm Springs. American Cement building, and office building, all by Chimay Bleue.

Below, another shot of the Parker Hotel, Palm Springs, by schafphoto:

Photos below by how_long_it_takes, one0one0one, Fernando Stankuns, and Michael-D(new works). Click on photos for more info.

Concrete block and perforated screen fetishists should visit this Flickr pool. The wall above and below is at the abandoned Besser Vibrapac office, a building that served as a display of the company’s own concrete blocks. Besser Vibrapac by The Mover, on Flickr. Click on photos to read more. And see this.

Above, “Empty midcentury modern building in Ft. Meade, FL. It has 2 of my favorite things. Circles and squares.” By JennRation.

Above, Frank Lloyd Wright patterned blocks, by Usonian. Below, Vancouver’s Planetarium (by me), and Blomberg Windows, Sacramento, CA by atomicpear.

Above, Penticton Fire Hall, photo by Drew Makepeace. Below, Mexico City facade, “Concrete Lace,” by VonMurr.

The Parker Hotel as photographed by Chimay Bleue, who has produced one of my favourite collections of photos of modernist architecture on Flickr. I’ll do a series of posts using his photos if he will let me. Look at the perforated screen wall outside – why don’t we see these screens around my part of the world? Because no one wants to pressure wash the moss off? Fantastic lobby, with an indoor version of a midcentury modern screen.

See a previous post for more information on this famous modernist house by Irish architect and designer Eileen Gray. There has been a lot of concern about the house’s survival, but as these recent photos by my Danish internet friend Vibeke Jakobsen show, it’s safely undergoing restoration. The house looks so much better – compare these to the photos in the previous post. The house is a major historical site and an important piece of architecture, but despite its fame in architectural circles, it’s a lot less publicly known than it should be. Is that because the architect was a woman? According to Patricia O’Reilly, who has written about the house, it’s undergoing “a €800,000 re-vamp with architect Gattier remaining close to Eileen Gray’s original concept, such as the black and white tiles; inbuilt furniture and footsteps cut out of stone staircase leading to roof terrace. But it has to be said that the focus of attention is on LeCorbusier’s murals and they seem to be the reason for this re-furbishment.” Le Corbusier was fascinated by the house, painted murals on it against Gray’s will, and died swimming just offshore from it – that’s why you see his memorial stone here, and there is a nearby promenade named after him. Thanks, Vibeke, for letting me post these photos here! The architecture nerds will be very happy.