Cooling Towers
A celebration of sculptural beauty, architectural legacy and industrial history

By (author) Twentieth Century Society,Twentieth Century Twentieth Century Society

ISBN13: 9781849949460

Imprint: Batsford

Publisher: Batsford

Format: Hardback

Published: 11/09/2025

Availability: Not yet available

Description
A stirring large-format celebration of cooling towers, the monumental brutalist structures dotted around Britain that are relics of twentieth-century industrial history – and are about to disappear for good. Bringing together some of the country’s most distinguished architectural photographers and writers, Cooling Towers is an elegiac exploration of these imposing buildings, forming a definitive visual record of Britain’s coal-fired power stations at the moment that they disappear into history, as most of them have been slated for demolition very soon. In a distinctive large format to reflect the unique and sculptural presence of cooling towers within the landscape and to best show the beautiful photography which captures them. Essays include: • Hugh Pearman on Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, still standing but not for long. • Otto Saumaurez Smith on the recently demolished, particularly beautiful set of cooling towers that formed part of Ironbridge B Power Station. • Jonathan Clarke on the historical, technological and engineering context of post-war power stations. With a celebratory foreword by Antony Gormley, Turner Prize-winning British artist who has long expressed admiration for these immense constructions, and photography from renowned architectural photographers Luke O'Donovan, Michael Collins and James O. Davis of Historic England, this book is a visually exciting and historically significant record of Britain's twentieth-century industrial legacy.
FOREWORD 6 INTRODUCTION 11 HISTORY 16 DESIGN AND ENGINEERING 34 LANDSCAPES 54 CULTURE 72 FUTURE 96 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 119 FURTHER READING 120 INDEX 121 PICTURE CREDITS 126
  • Public buildings: civic, commercial, industrial, etc
  • History of architecture
  • General (US: Trade)
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List Price: £45.00