Demise of the 'mouth of hell'
Northampton Greyfriars: Demise of the Brutalist 'mouth of hell'
Greyfriars was described by commentators at its opening as a "feat of engineering"
As a form of design, Brutalism has divided opinion for decades. In recent years many examples have been razed to the ground, with Northampton's Greyfriars bus station next in line. So why are some mourning the potential loss of an entire era of architecture?
Northampton's Greyfriars bus station is a relic from a period of bold geometries within architecture known as Brutalism.
Costing more than £40m in today's money, the 1970s building has been the subject of ridicule for decades as an over-ambitious example of bad planning and - for some - its demise cannot come quickly enough.
It was derided by Channel 4 presenter and designer Kevin McCloud as "like a great big mouth of hell" and work on its destruction begins this weekend.
A troubled project from the start, it opened 18 months late in April 1976 after costing more than twice its £3m budget.
More than 175m (574ft) long, with three floors of offices and a car park above the bus bays, it was big enough to double as an overnight garage for many of the town's buses.
The site was created from a compulsory land purchase by the town's development corporation
Construction of Greyfriars Bus Station was well under way by November 1974
The bus station will make way as part of a redevelopment plan yet to be finalised
In an April 1976 editorial in the Evening Telegraph newspaper, Pat Percival described it as "really remarkable building", while others said it had a "space age" feel.
Follow @LaNUBlog & @Hon_KingSIMEO on Twitter for Updates
Greyfriars was described by commentators at its opening as a "feat of engineering"
As a form of design, Brutalism has divided opinion for decades. In recent years many examples have been razed to the ground, with Northampton's Greyfriars bus station next in line. So why are some mourning the potential loss of an entire era of architecture?
Northampton's Greyfriars bus station is a relic from a period of bold geometries within architecture known as Brutalism.
Costing more than £40m in today's money, the 1970s building has been the subject of ridicule for decades as an over-ambitious example of bad planning and - for some - its demise cannot come quickly enough.
It was derided by Channel 4 presenter and designer Kevin McCloud as "like a great big mouth of hell" and work on its destruction begins this weekend.
A troubled project from the start, it opened 18 months late in April 1976 after costing more than twice its £3m budget.
More than 175m (574ft) long, with three floors of offices and a car park above the bus bays, it was big enough to double as an overnight garage for many of the town's buses.
The site was created from a compulsory land purchase by the town's development corporation
Construction of Greyfriars Bus Station was well under way by November 1974
The bus station will make way as part of a redevelopment plan yet to be finalised
In an April 1976 editorial in the Evening Telegraph newspaper, Pat Percival described it as "really remarkable building", while others said it had a "space age" feel.
Follow @LaNUBlog & @Hon_KingSIMEO on Twitter for Updates
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