Modernist #56

"This issue is a tour of both the familiar and unexpected. Kathryn Ferry whisks us to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, where rollercoasters and candy floss collide with modernist heritage. Rich Duisberg revs the engines in France while Alexandra van der Essen takes us to Southern Vietnamese cinema. Amy Kennedy and Ben Britton remind us that skateboards and playscapes can transform overlooked corners into playgrounds of possibility.

Pleasure, of course, comes in many guises. Sometimes it’s intentional – spaces designed for leisure, spectacle and fun. Sometimes it sneaks in sideways – when undercrofts become skate havens or song festivals turn into national celebrations.

And then there are the comforting constants – Jet O’Rourke’s parks and playgrounds, Matthew Dransfield and Benjamin Carter’s sports venues, Ashlyn Hochschild’s events complex, Michael Revill’s milk bar, Emilia Chegini’s kiosks. These are the everyday pleasures that never go out of style – even if some now have precarious futures.

From glitterballs to swimming baths, motorsport tracks to milk bars, this issue is a celebration of how modernism shapes the way we play, relax and enjoy ourselves. So dive in, turn the page and let PLEASURE lead the way – because fun is serious business."

The Modernist is a quarterly printed publication about 20th century modernist architecture and design. Published  in the North of England and now spreading its tentacles across the world.