Twentieth Century Architecture 5: Festival of Britain and Brief City: The story of London's Festival Buildings. (Engineering Happiness).Edited by Elain Harwood and Alan Powers Alan Power (born January 23 1988 in Dublin) is an Irish footballer currently with Nottingham Forest. The midfielder impressed the Forest management team during the 2006-07 season with some excellent performances for the reserves. , London: Twentieth Century Society. 2001. [pounds sterling]19.95 BRIEF CITY: THE STORY OF LONDON'S FESTIVAL BUILDINGS Directed by Maurice Harvey and Jacques Brunius, Massingham Production Ltd. 1952. [pounds sterling]9.95 Fifty years ago Churchill's returning government spared little time in removing all traces of the Labour Party's Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition which opened in London and around Britain in May 1951. The official opening was on May 3.[1] The principal exhibition site was on the south bank of the River Thames near Waterloo Station. , and in October 1951 as the Festival Flag fell the South Bank Exhibition Buildings were also hauled down. In recognition of this, The Twentieth Century Society not only organized a well attended conference, and released on video The Observer's film Brief City: The Story of London's Festival Buildings, but have also published a collection of essays that bring together new historical analysis and the recollections of those involved. Like the Festival itself, when read together the essays are rather eccentric. Brief pieces on fringe events such as Coventry's Godiva Pageant pageant, modern dramatic spectacle or procession celebrating a special occasion or an event in the history of a locality. In medieval times the word pageant had meant the wagon or the movable stage on which one scene of a mystery or miracle play was performed. , and references to the Festival's contribution to morris dancing and best kept garden competitions are read in stark contrast to the more weighty contributions of the South Bank and Lansbury Exhibitions. To an architectural reader, the book is critically light. No explicit attempt is made to place the architecture within it postwar context, and only passing reference is made to some wonderful experimental pieces -- such as the Fairway Cafe's pre-stressed concrete diagrid Diagrid (a portmanteau of diagonal grid) is a design for constructing large buildings with steel that creates triangular structures with diagonal support beams. It requires less structural steel than a conventional steel frame. roof and the wonderfully precarious 'Carry-Cot' offices. Therefore, beyond the broader stylistic sty·lis·tic adj. Of or relating to style, especially literary style. sty·lis  ti·cal·ly adv. themes discussed in Alan Powers' fine essay, 'The Expression of Levity', the opportunity to discuss specific architectural innovation has been missed. Despite this, the essays and the film perfectly encapsulate en·cap·su·late v. 1. To form a capsule or sheath around. 2. To become encapsulated. en·cap the spirit of the Festival with perhaps the only omission omission n. 1) failure to perform an act agreed to, where there is a duty to an individual or the public to act (including omitting to take care) or is required by law. Such an omission may give rise to a lawsuit in the same way as a negligent or improper act. being an editorial conclusion. The Society's recent conference concluded with Simon Sadler's excellent critical comparison with the millennium celebrations. Had the book included this piece we may have been left with more pertinent contemporary questions, rather than just fond memories of the birth of the 'Contemporary Style'. |
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