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Brutal London: New book allows you to construct your own concrete capital

You might recognise this project by Zupagrafika from a previous article featured on Creative Boom, and to be honest we just can't get enough of anything remotely related to Brutalist buildings.

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Brutal London book cover by Zupagrafika featuring six paper model brutalist buildings arranged on a grey background with black text and Prestel publisher logo

The latest to come from the Poznań-based studio is a book, entitled Brutal London, which allows readers to craft their very own city out of paper – based on the original 'Brutal London' series of illustrated paper cut-outs, first designed and published by Zupagrafika in February 2015.

"Brutal London by Zupagrafika is a playful journey through London´s post-war brutalist architecture that allows the readers to construct some of the most interesting and controversial concrete structures while learning about their place in the city´s architectural history. Opening with an informative history of the origins and philosophy of Brutalism, the book features nine buildings to assemble: Alexandra Road Estate, Alton Estate, Aylesbury Estate, Ledbury Estate, National Theatre, Robin Hood Gardens, Barbican Estate, Balfron Tower and Space House.

"The first part of the book features a foreword by Norman Foster and looks at the significance of these buildings with a short chapter on each, complete with texts by John Grindrod (author of 'Concretopia') and photos by Peter Chadwick (author of 'This Brutal World').

"It continues with a series of illustrated buildings to be found around the districts of Camden, Southwark, Tower Hamlet, Roehampton and City of London. Printed on heavy card stock, readers can detach and construct both iconic brutalist structures, such as: Balfron Tower, Barbican Estate, and National Theatre, as well as social council estates, like Robin Hood Gardens and Aylesbury Estate doomed to premature demolition."

A must buy for any fan of iconic architecture. Discover more on Behance.

Via Behance

Open pages from Brutal London book showing a black and white portrait photograph and introduction text about Brutalist architecture
Open pages of Brutal London book showing an upward photograph of a brutalist concrete tower block and a contents page listing featured buildings
Open spread from Brutal London book showing Alexandra Road Estate brutalist architecture across two pages with photographs and descriptive text
Open pages of Brutal London book showing Alton Estate brutalist building photographs and descriptive text alongside architectural imagery
Open book showing Balfron Tower, a brutalist residential building with a distinctive tall tower element, alongside descriptive text and architectural detail photographs
Open spread from Brutal London book showing architectural photography and text alongside paper cut-out building models by Zupagrafika
Open pages of Brutal London book showing upward view of Barbican Estate Lauderdale Tower's brutalist concrete facade alongside article text and architectural photographs
Close-up of printed page from Brutal London book showing text about Londoners being lucky to have so many post-war landscapes and landmarks on their doorsteps, with a building visible in the blurred background
Open pages of Brutal London book showing architectural photography and text alongside cut-out building templates for assembly
Open Brutal London book showing photograph of brutalist architecture and a grey paper model of a building to assemble
Open pages of Brutal London book showing architectural blueprint and paper cut-out components for assembling a brutalist building model
Hand holding open the Brutal London book by Zupagrafika, revealing a paper cut-out of a brutalist building ready to be constructed
Cylindrical brutalist tower block with repetitive grid of rectangular windows and white concrete framing against a pale sky
Page from Brutal London book showing die-cut paper models of brutalist buildings arranged on white paper next to printed text
Monochrome paper model of a brutalist London skyline featuring concrete tower blocks and modernist buildings arranged in a cityscape against a white background
Open pages from Brutal London showing architectural text and an illustrated paper model of a brutalist residential building with construction details
Hand holding a paper model of brutalist buildings from Zupagrafika's Brutal London project
Open book spread showing a blank left page and right page with architectural illustration and diagram of a tall brutalist residential tower with smaller building detail above
Assembled paper model of brutalist residential buildings from Zupagrafika's Brutal London project, showing stacked concrete-textured structures with green and blue accent details
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