National Theatre 01

National Theatre 01

Where concrete poetry meets the sky.

I've always been drawn to the quiet monumentality of Britain's brutalist landmarks. Here, the National Theatre reveals itself not as the controversial concrete behemoth which Prince Charles described in 1988 as “A clever way of building a nuclear power station in the middle of London without anyone objecting”, but as something altogether more delicate a study in light, form and texture.

Shot in the golden afternoon light, this image isolates the Theatre's most sculptural elements: those bold horizontal terraces jutting defiantly into space, the commanding vertical towers reaching skyward, and the remarkable board-marked concrete whose texture speaks of the wooden formwork that shaped it decades ago.

What fascinates me about Lasdun's 1976 masterpiece is how it transforms with changing light. Here, the afternoon sun casts subtle shadows across the concrete façade, revealing the architect's obsession with what he called “the architecture of urban landscape.” The building becomes a cliff face – stratified, dramatic, enduring.

Print Details

• C-Type print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper

• Exceptional colour reproduction and archival quality

• The paper is coated with a slightly stippled texture giving a very natural photographic finish with subtle colour

• Shipped in protective tubes

• Available in various sizes to suit your space

This photograph is part of my ongoing exploration of brutalism's unexpected poetry – finding beauty in buildings that many pass by without a second glance. Like all my architectural studies, it's about revealing the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary.

For interiors that celebrate thoughtful design and quiet contemplation.