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Summary
A captivating exploration of Britain’s most iconic contemporary buildings, from the Barratt home to the Millennium Dome.
‘Vital . . . Grindrod is an architectural Daniel Defoe on a tour of our island, excavating our recent past, and our possible futures.’
LEO HOLLIS
Wimpey homes. Millennium monuments. Riverside flats. Wind farms. Spectacular skyscrapers. City centre apartments. Out of town malls.
The buildings designed in our lifetimes encapsulate the dreams and aspirations of our culture, while also revealing the sobering realities. Whether modest or monumental, they offer a living history of Britain, a reminder of the forces that have shaped our modern landscape.
Iconicon is an enthralling journey around the Britain we have created since 1980: the horrors and delights, the triumphs and failures. From space-age tower blocks to suburban business parks, and from postmodernist exuberance to Passivhaus eco-efficiency, this is at once a revelatory architectural grand tour and an endlessly witty and engaging piece of social history.
JohnGrindrod
John Grindrod is a social historian of modern places. He’s the author of Iconicon: A Journey Around the Landmark Buildings of Contemporary Britain (2022), Outskirts: Living Life on the Edge of the Green Belt (shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize, 2017) and Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain (2013). He hosts the podcast Monstrosities Mon Amour, about loving…
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