Crazy About Concrete

Did you have a teacher who was so passionate about their subject that you couldn’t help but get carried away with them? I did. Mr Doig, art history. His passion was architecture, more specifically modern architecture. Each week we crammed into an over-heated dark room for two hours and listened to the rhythmic whir of the slide projector as it flashed up one magnificent building after another. His passion turned into my passion. 

I love modern architecture, but there’s one type of building that floats my boat. I’m not talking about a particular style like Bauhaus, brutalism or minimalism – for me, it’s a material used on these buildings that gets my toes tingling.

Concrete, plain old concrete. 

It’s one of the most versatile materials around. It can be poured and moulded into any shape and when reinforced can create gravity defying structures. You can keep your bricks and mortar, give me a swimming-pool-sized cantilever any day. 

I wanted to see one of these buildings so much, but there was just one problem. I grew up in a village in Leicestershire, all chocolate box cottages and Georgian elegance. The only modern building was the new squash club, built of bright red bricks. It was hideous. 

Then I moved to London.

The first opportunity I had, I made a beeline to the Barbican. I wandered around in open-mouthed wonder; secret gardens, large lily ponds with fountains, glass houses, theatres and gravity-defying balconies. Next up, the National Theatre. Board-formed concrete everywhere. If you walk around London instead of getting the tube, you realise that there are concrete lovelies everywhere.

Every city I’ve visited, I’ve tried to walk around as much as possible. New York takes strolling to a whole other level. But even the Guggenheim Museum pales when compared to my number one on the list of best ever buildings.

Enter stage left, the Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudi. Swoon.

Construction began in 1882 mainly using traditional carved stone to create the effects Gaudi wanted. But in 1918 he was introduced to concrete. Realising it was not only strong but resistant to the elements, he used the material to give the building its impressive height and decorative flourishes. The spires that can be seen across the whole of Barcelona are only possible thanks to reinforced concrete. There are another eight to be constructed, all much higher than the existing ones. The project is supposed to be finished in 2026. If it’s half as impressive as the drawings, it will be a sight to behold.

I waited 32 years to see the Sagrada Familia in person. The scratched slide that I saw as a 10-year-old didn’t prepare me for the height and drama of it. It took my breath away and made me cry. Thanks Mr Doig, you were the best teacher I ever had. 

Photo by Pat Krupa on Unsplash