They bring color and joy to people. In Great Britain, 17 postmodern buildings were taken under protection

"Historical England" - the state body that is responsible for the preservation of architectural monuments of England, included in the lists of protected objects 17 completed examples of postmodernism, built in the period from 1970 to 1990.

These will be the most "young" monuments, however, executive director Duncan Wilson said that he feels responsible for preserving objects with unique and bright aesthetics.

"Postmodern architecture brought fun and color to our streets. Typical residential buildings were decorated with bold facades, museums, offices and schools surprise us with unusual glamorous forms," ​​says Wilson.

Most of the objects added to the protected list were assigned the status of second-level protection, and two of them - the Sainsbury Wing and the Theme House of Charles Jenks in Holland Park - are now under state protection as the most valuable architectural monuments.

Facade of the Sainsbury Wing

Entrance to the Sainsbury Wing Gallery

Exhibition galleries Sainsbury Wing

The Sainsbury Wing building was built in 1991 as an extension of the space of the National Gallery according to the project of the architectural bureau Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates. The facade of the wing stylistically harmonizes with the historical building of the National Gallery of 1838 and is made of the same light limestone brought from Portland. However, Sainsbury Wing still stands out with its original appearance. Classical elements of the facade are interspersed with postmodern counterpoints, and the ceilings of the internal galleries are decorated with metal arches.

Sainsbury Wing

The Sainsbury Wing houses a collection of early Renaissance art. The entrance to the gallery from Trafalgar Square is designed to provide access for people with disabilities. The project was repeatedly awarded architectural awards, and now it has received the official protective status of the highest category.

Interiors of the theme house

Terry Farrell and Charles Jenks on the background of the Theme House

The townhouse of the architect and landscape designer Charles Jenks is a collection of symbols and an embodied symbol of postmodernism. That's how it was intended - Jenks wanted his ego house to become a collection of quotes. With the help of Maggie's wife (Maggie Keswick - the founder of Maggie's Centers for people with cancer) and architect friend Terra Farrell, he reconstructed a townhouse built in 1840. Each of the rooms in the house has its own theme - there are "winter", "spring", "summer", "autumn" rooms, a "solar" staircase and a "space" hall.

Interiors of the theme house

Interiors of the theme house

If you look at the facade of the building, you can see that the elements - doors, windows, arches and stairs - are folded into abstract human figures.

The ceiling in the lobby of the Theme House

Architectural critics, talking about the style of the Thematic House, called it "an amalgam of postmodernism, kitsch and cosmogony." And Charles Jenks himself spoke about his idea as follows: "In 1979, postmodernism lost its ornamentation and degenerated into an application of kitsch. I wanted to show how strong a symbolic load this design initially carried."