SURVEY OF THE SMITHSONS’ ECONOMIST BUILDING

Studio Fall 2019
London, United Kingdom

Collaboration with Stella Dai, Estephany Lona-Camacho, Kayleen O’Brien, and Timothy Tamulonis

Professor Davide Sacconi + Jad Semaan


Peter and Alison Smithson’s post-war era work embodies the rejection of clean modernism while also paying close attention to its forms and materiality. They were revolutionaries in some of the first works of Brutalist Architecture, a movement that soon swept Europe. In this assignment, the group was challenged to reconsider the role and function of Brutalist buildings across London and document their findings in compounded drawings and explorative models. The Economist is stylistically on the fringes of what qualifies as a Brutalist building, which typically feature dramatic geometric forms and monolithic concrete to represent the might of the state which built them.

Using only foam core and adhesives, materialities and textures are created through the manipulation of foam core to replicate those integral to the building. Models were to be made with exact accuracy including construction details and facade fittings at 1:50 metric scale. Everything from the ground panel patterning to the steel members were made to fit the original design before the 2018 renovation. The model was designed to be able to remove the maintenance “hat” as well as the facade and floor slabs of each of the three main buildings.

Dimensions of the final model: 4’x’4’x5.25’

Featured photographs: Lindsey Dierig, the Economist Plaza, London, UK. SLR Film Digital Copy, September 2019.