Distorted Modernism

Wide Angle Wednesday: Distorted Modernism

This is what Bristolians of my generation know as the DRG building, although its official name nowadays is One Redcliffe Street.  The building dates back from the very early 1960s and was the city's first tower block., and the first attempt at Modernism in Bristol.  

The blocky building was designed as the headquarters of paper and packaging manufacturers the Dickinson Robinson Group by the company's in-house architectural practice.  It has divided opinion for years, there are those that rather like it, and those who see it as an ugly graceless thing.  It is however, undoubtedly very distinctive and one of Bristol's landmarks.

One unforeseen side effect of the design is the wind that it funnels into the surrounding roads.  When the wind is coming from the wrong direction, there can be gales swirling around the base of the building.

Hobbs is our host again this week and his series of tutorials on wide angle photography make great reading.  You can see the other entries here.