High-Tech Britain

A showcase of Britain's most astonishing examples of High-Tech buildings from the late twentieth century and beyond. Often associated with factories, offices and transport infrastructure, High-Tech is an elusive architectural style defined by expressed structure and services, 'clip-on' prefabrication, flexible interiors and the technological aesthetic of outriggers, tension rods and glossy cladding. This beautifully photographed book is an authoritative survey of the most groundbreaking British examples of the style from leading architectural historian Geraint Franklin, following on from his acclaimed book Post-Modern Buildings in Britain. Among the buildings featured are the awe-inspiring Lloyd's Building in London, the glorious Sainsbury Centre at the University of East Anglia, the curvy press box at Lords Cricket Ground and the world-famous Eden Project in Cornwall, alongside lesser-known buildings which include private homes, facilities for civic, educational and community use as well as buildings for culture, sport and entertainment. Also covered are the origins and pioneers of High-Tech architecture from its radical origins in 1960s London and the epoch-defining work of the 'big four': Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Michael and Patty Hopkins and Nicolas Grimshaw, as well as the younger generation of designers such as Ian Ritchie, Richard Horden, Jan Kaplickÿ and Eva Jiricna who took the language in new directions. Now, more than 50 years on, the values and aesthetics of High-Tech architecture have been absorbed into the mainstream of global architecture, from international airport terminals to the 'serviced sheds' of industrial estates and retail parks, demonstrating the versality the style and the resourcefulness of its practitioners.