Brutalist architect Owen Luder dies aged 93

Owen Luder, the British architect behind brutalist buildings including the Trinity Square car park and Tricorn Centre, has died at the age of 93.

Luder, who passed away on Friday, was twice president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) – once from 1981 to 1983 and later from 1995 to 1997.

Owen Luder (top image) was the architect behind the brutalist Trinity Square car park in Gateshead (above)

The architect was best known for his portfolio of brutalist buildings completed with his eponymous studio, the Owen Luder Partnership, during the 1960s and 70s.

Characterised by exposed concrete, sculptural forms and minimal decoration, many of these structures proved controversial and have since been demolished.

However, Luder once told Dezeen that his studio "never set out to design Brutalist buildings".

"We designed them in concrete because that's what was there. Bear in mind it was the sixties, it was difficult to get steel, it was still rationed," he explained.

Trinity Square was demolished in 2010. Photo is by Rodge500 via Wikimedia Commons

Luder was born in London in 1928 and enrolled at the former School of Building in Brixton at the age of 13.

He established his practice in 1957, where he employed architect Rodney Gordon. The pair went on to collaborate on several of the studio's best-known works.

Read:

Brutalist buildings: Trinity Square car park by Owen Luder

Among the studio's notable buildings to have been demolished are the Tricorn Centre – a multipurpose complex in Portsmouth – the Trinity Square development and the Derwent Tower housing in Gateshead.

After outliving several of his projects, Luder was once dubbed Britain's unluckiest architect.

Trinity Square, which is arguably Luder's best-known project, featured in the 1971 film Get Carter, where actor Michael Caine throws his nemesis from its multi-storey car park.

Luder's remaining works include the Catford Centre and Eros House in London, as well as the South London Theatre, which was built in an old Victorian fire station in 1967.

In 1987, Luder left his studio to establish a consultancy called Communication In Construction.

One of Luder's remaining projects is the South London Theatre

Among the industry figures to have paid their condolences to the architect was RIBA president Simon Allford, who said "Luder will be remembered for his powerful and raw schemes".

"Made famous as the commercially astute Brutalist, Luder designed several remarkable schemes throughout the 1960s and 1970s, which divided opinion – attracting both admiration and condemnation – in equal measure," he continued.

Read:

11 lesser-known Brutalist buildings that helped define the movement

On Twitter, former RIBA Journal editor Hugh Pearman wrote he was "sorry to hear of the death at 93 of architect and gent Owen Luder".

"He was the only person committed (or mad) enough to serve as president of the RIBA on two separate occasions, more than a decade apart," Pearman added.

Writer and editor Chris Foges said that he was passing the former School of Building in Brixton on the day he heard the news.

"On the day it was announced that Owen Luder has died at 93, I happened to pass where he enrolled at 13 to learn the trades," Foges said. "From there to RIBA president is an extraordinary trajectory".

Designer Jeeves Williams said Luder was an "architectural legend" and described his brutalist buildings as "iconic".

Other leading architects to have passed away this year include the founder of global architecture firm Gensler, Art Gensler, the designer of the James R Thompson Center, Helmut Jahn, and Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning Paulo Mendes da Rocha.

The architect behind the brutalist Church of the Pilgrimage, Gottfried Böhm, also died aged 101.

The portrait of Luder is courtesy of RIBA Collections. 

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Tigmi Trading designs rug collection that takes cues from brutalist architecture

Dezeen promotion: Byron Bay rug company Tigmi Trading has released its first in-house-designed rug collection informed by brutalist architecture.

The five-piece luxury rug collection is called Rilievo, which translates to "relief" in Italian.

The rugs are informed by the hard edges of brutalist architecture and feature geometric patterns that intend to mirror the interplay between a building's light and shadows.

The rug collection is informed by brutalist architecture

Founder and creative director of Tigmi Trading Danielle McEwan was influenced by architect Carlo Scarpa when designing the collection, which takes cues from Scarpa's modernist work.

"I have a deep connection with architectural detail and in particular, the way brutalist forms can balance the harshness and strength of materiality with the intricate detail of the design," said McEwan.

"The use of repetitive patterns to create sculptural elements and detail, playing with proportion and light and Scarpa's approach to combining different materials– in our case, the linen – with a precious one such as soft New Zealand wool."

The rugs come in a series of colours

The simplicity of each rug's single colour is offset by the textured relief 'rilievo' of patterns, forming pieces that intend to be timeless.

Tigmi Trading worked with a family-based weaving company in Nepal to create the collection, which is made-to-order in the interest of minimising waste.

Describing itself as a "conscious" brand, the rug-makers has recently become a GoodWeave partner. GoodWeave is a non-profit organisation that works to end child labour in the rug industry.

Geometric lines seen in modernist architecture are echoed in the rug designs

Rilievo intends to echo the brand's commitment to quality and sustainable artisanship.

"Our aim is to keep pushing ourselves and customers to think and buy consciously – beautifully aesthetic, socially and ethically made design – we don’t believe you need to sacrifice one for the other," added McEwan.

"We will continue to design and develop an exciting range of rugs and products that share this ethos."

To view more of Tigmi Trading’s products, visit its website.

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Fréquence shelf by Jean Couvreur for Kataba

Dezeen Showroom: Jean Couvreur has designed the minimalist Fréquence shelf for Kataba, which was created as a multifunctional piece of modular furniture.

The Fréquence shelf can be used as a bookcase, base unit or room divider, and is made up of a number of geometrically shaped modules.

The bookshelf consists of individual modules

These can be combined in different ways to create a design that can be adapted to suit its interior, ranging from a small bookshelf close to the floor to a larger room divider.

Fréquence is "the expression of a sober and efficient construction principle based on the exploitation of all the properties of aluminum," Kataba said.

This construction principle has reduced the loss of material in its manufacturing to less than 10 per cent.

They can be arranged to form a room divider

The sturdy aluminium makes for a hardy shelf with an industrial feel, which is offset by it's organical shape.

The Fréquence shelf is one of a selection of products available through French furniture and design fair Maison & Objet.

Product: Fréquence shelf
Designer: Jean Couvreur
Brand: Kataba
Contact: assistant@s2hcommunication.com

About Dezeen Showroom: Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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WOHA creates "oasis in the desert" for Singapore Pavilion at Dubai Expo

Architecture studio WOHA has created a plant-filled pavilion covered in a "three-dimensional garden" at Dubai Expo 2020.

Set opposite the Grimshaw-designed Sustainability Pavilion and next door to the Dutch Pavilion in the expo's sustainability district, the Singapore Pavilion was designed to be a nature-filled place of retreat from the bustle of the event.

WOHA designed the Singapore Pavilion at Dubai Expo

"The core concept for the Singapore Pavilion was to create an oasis in the desert, an escape from the hustle and bustle of the expo, where visitors are instinctively drawn to nature," said WOHA director Phua Hong Wei.

"We wanted the pavilion to take visitors on an experiential journey through a three-dimensional garden," he told Dezeen.

It was designed as a plant-filled "oasis in the desert"

The building was built around three plant-covered cones that contain a series of exhibition spaces.

Visitors to the pavilion take a route up through the building on a series of walkways that pass through hanging gardens and around and into the cones.

At the top of the building is an open space containing a cafe and sunken auditorium for talks.

Walkways take visitors around three plant-covered cones. Photo by Quentin Sim

WOHA designed the pavilion to demonstrate how planting can be used to reduce the impact of building in the Dubai climate.

"It is a prototype that showcases strategies that are scalable and adaptable, from buildings to cities," said Wei.

"The symbiosis of building and nature makes a sustainable, yet attractive and accessible environment," he continued.

"Beyond the man-made and natural systems, the design adopts passive strategies like overhang for shading, an open floorplan for natural cross-ventilation and high volumes for daylighting."

The building is sheltered by a large roof

The pavilion does not require mains power or water. The roof canopy is topped with 517 solar panels that will provide 161 megawatt hours (Mwh) of power during the expo, while a water desalination system will treat 40 cubic metres of water each day to irrigate the plants.

"More importantly, the lush oasis is self-sustaining in the harsh desert environment," explained Wei.

"It does not draw power from the power grid or water line. It shows that buildings can be both sociable and sustainable, at no compromise."

Plants hang from the roof

"We see the pavilion as interlinked systems, similar to nature," continued Wei.

"It photosynthesizes and is sheltered by a maximized solar canopy. The clean energy generated from the canopy powers the entire infrastructure," he continued.

"It draws water from the ground, desalinates, feeding the drip-irrigation, mist-fans and water feature, cooling the environment through evapotranspiration."

Each of the cones contains exhibits

WOHA believes that the pavilion demonstrates how buildings can be designed in a more responsible way in the light of climate change.

"The World Green Building Council states that building and construction accounts for close to 40 per cent of carbon emissions in the world," said Wei.

"Rather than 'taking and emitting', the pavilion shows that buildings should do more, give back and make a positive impact on our environment," he continued.

"To achieve a balance and restore climate stability, we need to rewild our environment and restore biodiversity. It is a cost-effective and nature-based solution."

The pavilion is in the sustainability district

The also demonstrates how architecture is developing in Singapore within its own hot climate.

"The pavilion mirrors Singapore's story of thriving in a challenging environment," added Wei.

"Like land-limited Singapore, the pavilion sits on one of the smallest plots in Expo but makes an impactful statement despite its size," he continued.

"It shows how Singapore is designing a positive future, one that is nurtured by nature. It also shows our role as architects and designers to think big and tackle key issues of our present for future generations."

An events space is at the top of the building

The Singapore Pavilion is one of many national pavilions at the Dubai expo, which runs for the next six months. Among the other pavilions is the UK Pavilion designed by Es Devlin, UAE Pavilion by Santiago Calatrava and the Italy Pavilion by Carlo Ratti.

Photography courtesy of Singapore Pavilion, unless stated.

Expo 2020 Dubai is open to the public from 1 October to 31 March 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Cover Story plastic-free paint shop encourages visitors to play with colour

Finnish plastic-free paint company Cover Story has opened its first shop: a "paint studio" fitted out by interior designer Linda Bergroth to offer customers multiple ways to explore colour.

The Cover Story Paint Studio is located in a small shopfront in central Helsinki. The brand considers this one of its points of differentiation from how paint is traditionally sold, on the outskirts of town in mammoth hardware stores.

The Paint Studio by Linda Bergroth is Cover Story's first bricks-and-mortar store

Instead, Cover Story tries to create a "pleasant and inspiring way to buy paints", and since its launch in January 2021 has operated an online store with worldwide home delivery.

The brand produces a curated collection of just 32 colours, chosen for their suitability to Nordic light conditions, with special limited-edition ranges created by guest designers.

Bergroth's design involved highlighting historic features, such as a double door between rooms

To avoid the microplastic pollution caused by common wall paint, which uses plastic as a binder, Cover Story instead produces a water-soluble paint with castor oil as part of the binder. It is no-VOC and odour-free.

The new Helsinki shop gives customers the option to explore paint samples in different ways than they would at home, as well as offering a click-and-collect point.

The store functions as both a showroom and click-and-collect point for customers

Bergroth both designed the interiors and created the brand's first capsule collection of six colours.

"The space was originally designed to be a showroom and office, but as the amount of interest from designers and private customers has grown over time, it is serving now more as a showroom and pick up point for paint," Bergroth told Dezeen.

The shop is located in a historic 1905 building

"Product development happens in the basements, also visible from the street."

The shop is located on Bulevardi in a historic 1905 building, dominated by the vestiges from a 1980s renovation that included glazed black and white floor tiles, wall-to-wall carpet and "a considerable amount of exposed electrical wiring," according to Bergroth.

Customers are encourage to play with coloured blocks try different colour combinations and experience the effect of light on colour

Her approach was to restore the building's old features while introducing innovative new displays.

Elements such as the vintage doors dividing the two-room space have been deliberately left untreated, with white peeling paint revealing the history of the building beneath.

Bergroth also believes the unfinished look brings to mind the process of renovation, conjuring a mood appropriate for the store.

Along one wall are adhesive colour samples, painted with the actual products. Cover Story's approach is to team them with small fragments of narrative, printed beneath the swatch, that evoke something of the colour's mood.

Adhesive paint swatches line one wall, and are accompanied by small bits of narrative text

In the centre of each room is a display made of painted blocks in different shapes, which allow customers to try out different colour compositions.

Being three-dimensional, they also allow customers to experience varying facets of the same colour.

Cover Story's packaging and tools is plastic-free, as is its paints

"The cube shape allows us to see different tones of the same colour, as light hits differently," said Bergroth. "This is an important thing when choosing a wall paint: is the painted surface for or against the light source in the room."

The walls of one room are horizontally divided into two colours, to inspire customers to play with several hues in one room, while the other room contains the stock in paint tins along one wall of industrial shelving.

Cover Story makes a tightly curated range of 32 colours, with guest designers contributing additional capsule collections

Cover Story only uses metal and wood in its packaging and tools, and the shop interior mirrors this with materials limited to galvanised steel, wood, concrete and paint.

Cover Story was founded in 2020 by entrepreneur Anssi Jokinen and former investment banker Tommi Saarnio.

The shop is located in the centre of Helsinki in a historic building

Design director Päivi Häikiö created the 32 colours of the brand's basic collection, looking to the rich colour palette of historical Finnish interior design as a reference.

Bergroth's previous work has included the pop-up Zero Waste Bistro interior at the the WantedDesign Manhattan fair in 2018.

She also designed the Koti hotel in Paris, which immerses guests in the Finnish experience of sleeping in wooden cabins and sharing meals around a communal table.

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