Apollo Pavilion

I was lent a rather queer book recently that contained various 'alternative' days out and places to visit in the UK. You know, things like, the Lawnmower museum and the Cumberland Pencil Museum. However there was one place that caught my eye, the Apollo Pavilion.

The Pavilion was designed by the British artist Victor Pasmore in the late 60's. The structure, made of reinforced concrete which was cast on the site, is made up of various geometric planes and was originally functional as well as visual, creating a pedestrian link between the Sunny Blunts Estate.

However, with the 80's came a new era for the Pavilion which had originally symbolised a new optimism bringing art and architecture together, and with a change of hands and lack of funds, it became a new symbol of its time. A target for vandalism and crime, it fell into disrepair and a new generation saw it as an eyesore and something that contributed to social failings. After a shaky and unknown future it was finally restored to its former glory in 2009.









The Sunny Blunt estate is also worth a mention. The Russian modernist architect Berthold Lubetkin, an important figure in the modern movement was responsible for the design though he was later replaced by Grenfell Baine.







All photos from the Apollo Pavilion.