Simon Phipps - Brutal Scotland: Scotland's Post-War Modernist Architecture
21st February - 16th May 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday 21st February, 3-5pm.
Documenting Scotland’s cohort of Brutalist buildings, in an odyssey that took him from Inverness to Galashiels, Simon Phipps explores and extends the link between photography and the evolution of modernity. Framed in a steady, neutral gaze, Phipps’ inanimate subjects have the sense of being grizzled survivors, bearing mute witness to the social and cultural history of a nation. Catherine Slessor, from the introduction to the book ‘Brutal Scotland’ (Nov 2025).
The focus of this new exhibition is Scotland’s post-war modernist architecture, selected from Phipps’ extensive photographic series which embraced 160 buildings across the country. Brutalist buildings in Scotland, emerging from post-war optimism (1950s–1970s), hold immense historical relevance as tangible, concrete symbols of social ambition, architectural experimentation, urban renewal, and in some cases the outcome of rapid slum clearance. While sometimes divisive, these structures—such as St Peter’s Seminary and Cumbernauld Centre—are increasingly recognised as having significant architectural heritage, representing a bold, functionalist era that aimed to improve lives. These once state-of-the-art structures are at a crossroads where some have fallen into disrepair and neglect, whilst some are being repurposed for contemporary use.
The exhibition adopts the graphic structure of Manplan, the radical architectural magazine of the late 1960s and early 1970s, presenting Phipps’ photographs alongside period adverts, typography, fragments of pop-culture lyrics and a colour scheme derived from the thematic approach of the magazine. Conceived as a monographic installation spanning both galleries, the show immerses visitors in a visual and cultural atmosphere referencing the era.
Simon Phipps' architectural photography is a national treasure and important archival record that will remain a reference for time eternal. No other photographer has captured so extensively the ‘brutal’ sublime in the UK and now specifically Scotland. Sublime in art is the fusion of fear and beauty, brutalist architecture exploits this tension, a quality Simon elevates in his work. Paul Stallan, from the exhibition minigraph.
For over 25 years, Simon Phipps has been documenting brutalist architecture across Britain, of which ‘Brutal Scotland’ is the latest iteration, and captured in a luxurious book designed and launched by Graphical House and published by Duckworth Books.
A graduate in sculpture from the Royal College of Art, Phipps is a renowned photographer of post-war modernist architecture, art and design. He is the author of six previous books – Brutal London, Finding Brutalism, Concrete Poetry, Brutal North, Brutal Outer London and Brutal Wales. Finding Brutalism won the 2018 DAM Architectural Book Award, while Brutal Outer London and Brutal Wales were shortlisted for the Architecture Book of the Year Award in 2023 and 2025 respectively.
An exhibition minigraph is available with a commissioned essay by architect and visual artist Paul Stallan
Simon’s book Brutal Scotland and a selection of posters are available. There are also large format limited edition two colour screenprints available, which Graphical House have produced in collaboration with the artist. All of these items are signed.
Thanks to Deadly Digital and The Poster Associates for support.
Banner image: Dundasvale Court, Glasgow, © Simon Phipps
Inset image: Thomas Keay Ltd, Dundee, © Simon Phipps
