Ralph Tubbs, YMCA india, Londres (1952)

Petspective on recent architectural history might be best gained by imagining looking back from the future. Commanding attention then are not the individualistic or ephemeral but the typical and influentially innovative, whether technically, stylistically or in theoretical/conceptual approach. Much that fills the journals melts into irrelevance. British architecture of the 50s might then be seen as concerned with elevating the typical. From today’s pluralism, what will stand out from the formulaic typical is not the formalist extravaganzas the media dotes on but the leading edge of technical innovation, the dazzling expertise of which exceeds the futurist dreams of ‘fifties sci-fi’ fantasies... [+]