Post Modernism and High-Tech

“There is nothing as toxic as the recently fashionable.” (Dan Graham).

In these days of polarisation, it’s time to celebrate an architectural movement which is in that difficult period at which it is most at danger. It’s a generation old. Too young to be considered historically important, too old to be considered exciting and revolutionary. Built by today’s taste makers parents means it’s viewed as unfashionable and first in the queue for demolition.

Post-modernism is an eclectic movement. It celebrates plurality. Its hallmarks were playful buildings which referenced classical designs and added a modern twist. It wears its influences with pride and a smile - using symbols to acknowledge traditional architecture. It used a variety of unusual shapes, materials and bright colours. It broke the rules. It was open to all styles that had been before and liked to mix them up.

It was a reaction to the seriousness of Modernism, to the ‘less is more’ Bauhaus and brutalist modernism which had dominated architecture for the middle 50 years of the 20th century.

Although John Outram explained “I used to like modernism but wanted to make it usable.”