2024-11-24T02:09:36-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149956615/don-t-miss-walking-through-the-economist-plaza skorgaonkar 2016-07-08T05:45:00-04:00 >2016-07-17T17:22:01-04:00 <p>The Economist Plaza was designed by Alison and Peter Smithson in the 1960s and still serves as a seminal example of an inviting and approachable urban space in Central London. The project is successful because it bravely addresses the clash between the aesthetic of the Smithsons and the surrounding historic fabric.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/2i/2ix1sqxurs97ezd3.jpg"></p><p>St. James&rsquo;s is steeped in history and tradition. The Economist Plaza itself shares a wall with Boodle&rsquo;s, a historic private member&rsquo;s club designed with Palladian windows and other classical features. In contrast, the Smithsons advocated the aesthetic for New Brutalism by examining and questioning the work of modernists like Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. They were hired for this project after completing the Hunstanton School in Norfolk.</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/1m/1m7zkhkx9f0w3cw4.jpg"></p><p>The Smithsons scheme may appear to be modernist but it subtly addresses the surrounding architecture. The original complex contained an office tower, residential building and bank. The Portland stone cladding references classical mater...</p>