Whether it’s along the South Bank or under the Westway, Brutalism has long been the architecture of choice for London’s skateboarders.
Trellick Tower in North Kensington now joins that list, with a video by Hilow Films taking us on a tour of the building through the tricks and turns of pro skater and local boy Nick Jensen.
The film – titled ‘31’ – is the brainchild of Gerard McAtamney, a resident in the Erno Goldfinger-designed tower, who came up with the idea after reading the Long Live South Bank book.
‘I was surprised to find a chapter about architecture and how skaters look at details differently to everyone else,’ McAtamney says. ‘With the short video, you look at the building through the eyes of the skater, overlaid with the very human stories of its residents.’
McAtamney is hoping to expand the series to explore other Brutalist buildings in London via the skateboard.
‘Brutalist architecture just lends itself really well to skateboarding,’ he adds. ‘It’s full of ramps, ravines, and it’s concrete – it’s not going to break.’