BRUTALISM IS BACK IN VOGUE

Throughout the Thatcherite Eighties and Majorite Nineties, they were the buildings we all loved to hate. But over the past few years, something quite extraordinary has happened to the cityscape of Blairite Britain. Contrary to conservative expectations, some of our most despised structures have been restored, revamped - even given coveted listed status. The modern monoliths we once loathed have become our newest national monuments. Against all the odds, brutalism is back in vogue.

Everywhere you look, brutalist buildings are getting facelifts. The National Theatre has had a spring-clean, the South Bank Centre is embarking on a major renovation, and the Barbican has celebrated its 20th birthday with a self-confident, self-congratulatory retrospective. Most remarkable of all, high-rise blocks such as Denys Lasdun's Keeling House and Erno Goldfinger's Trellick Tower have been transformed into smart new homes. So how did a style that seemed to sum up everything that was awful about modern architecture suddenly become the height of fashion?...
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