High-Tech Britain: Futuristic Buildings 1968-Today

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.

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 Lord’s Cricket Ground, and the world-famous Eden Project in Cornwall, alongside lesser-known buildings that include private homes; facilities for civic, educational, and community use; as well as buildings for culture, sports, and entertainment.

Also covered are the origins and pioneers of High-Tech architecture from its radical beginnings in 1960s London and the epoch-defining work of the “Big Four.” Now, more than fifty 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.

Geraint Franklin is an architectural historian from Historic England.