Brook, R., 2021.
Levelling Up: The Aerial Environments of Wilson Womersley
Output Type: | Non-peer reviewed article |
Publication: | The Modernist |
Publisher: | The Modernist Society |
ISBN/ISSN: | 2046-2905 |
Volume/Issue: | 40 |
Pagination: | pp. 28-31 |
Lambasted and lost, pretty much characterises the architectural output of Wilson Womersley in Manchester; the city that spawned their partnership. In a bombastic blast of red, grey and yellow, the firm designed the University Precinct Centre (1967-72), Hulme Crescents (1965-71) and the Arndale Centre (1972-79). In the space of a decade they shaped Manchester's urban fabric, leaving a questionable legacy. The technical quality of their buildings was undoubtedly poor, but their qualities - bold forms, monolithic materiality and streets-in-the-sky - were of the moment, and captured a particular brand of urban renewal, imported from North America and inflected through British post-war planning.