Cooling Towers
A celebration of sculptural beauty, industrial history and architectural legacy
Author: Twentieth Century Society
A beautifully illustrated exploration and celebration of cooling towers, the monumental and imposing brutalist structures dotted around the UK that are relics of 20th-century industrial history and are disappearing fast.
15th September 2025
Hardcover
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Summary
A beautifully illustrated exploration and celebration of cooling towers, the monumental and imposing brutalist structures dotted around the UK that are relics of 20th-century industrial history and are disappearing fast.
Description
A stirring large-format celebration of cooling towers, the monumental brutalist structures dotted around Britain that are relics of twentieth-century industrial history - and are about to disappear for good.
Bringing together some of the country's most distinguished architectural photographers and writers, Cooling Towers is an elegiac exploration of these imposing buildings, forming a definitive visual record of Britain's coal-fired power stations at the moment that they disappear into history, as most of them have been slated for demolition very soon. In a distinctive large format to reflect the unique and sculptural presence of cooling towers within the landscape and to best show the beautiful photography which captures them. Essays include:
- Hugh Pearman on Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, still standing but not for long.
- Otto Saumaurez Smith on the recently demolished, particularly beautiful set of cooling towers that formed part of Ironbridge B Power Station.
- Jonathan Clarke on the historical, technological and engineering context of postwar power stations.
With a celebratory foreword by Antony Gormley, the Turner Prize-winning British artist who has long expressed admiration for these immense constructions, and photography from renowned architectural photographers Luke O'Donovan, Michael Collins and James O. Davis of Historic England, this book is a visually exciting and historically significant record of Britain's twentieth-century industrial legacy.
About the Author
The Twentieth Century Society is a British charity that campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. They provide support and advice to architects and planning authorities to protect the best twentieth-century architecture and design, whether through listing or sympathetic development and management. In 2023, the society launched a campaign to protect Britain's few remaining cooling towers.
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15th September 2025
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