ANGLES
Brutal Territory
Blue Crow MediaŹ¼s Derek Lamberton
makes a cartographic appeal to
architectural enthusiasts and travelers
alike to give Brutalism another look
I nterv ie w Patrick Kasingsing
p h oto g ra p h y Relja Ivanic
Hello! Please introduce yourself.
My name is Derek Lamberton. Originally from
Washington, D.C.. I now live in London, and I am the
founder of Blue Crow Media.
modernist architecture in London. For the reader or
user, I wanted to present an often ignored or reviled
style as something of significant aesthetic value, and to
encourage people to reconsider their view of the style and
to visit the buildings with an open mind. From a personal
perspective, it was to design and publish something with
Jaakko that was worthy of the subject matter.
What got you into the mapmaking/cartography
industry? Have you always been fascinated with maps?
My family has moved around quite a lot for a number
of generations, and my mother worked at National
Geographic, so I was lucky to grow up with piles of maps
and stories of living in interesting parts of the world.
Why a Brutalist-themed map? What about this
architectural style appealed to you and why do
you think it's worth spreading consciousness and
information about architecture in this particular style?
Even though it was only two years ago that I published
the Brutalist London Map (in November 2015), it's
now perhaps difficult to consider how unusual it was
then. There have been a number of high quality books
about Brutalist buildings published since then, and an
unbelievable amount of social media posts, but in late
2015, there was nothing on the shelves. So part of the
inspiration was to create something original. But it's such
an interesting style and exploring it globally has been a
terrific and frustrating experience.
What prompted the idea of creating architecture-
themed maps? What were you hoping the users would
take away from your work?
I originally began in 2009, publishing map-based,
food and drink-oriented iPhone apps. Around 2012
I shared an office studio with a book designer named
Jaakko Tuomivaara, and we began working on the
maps together. The Brutalist London Map was the first
architecture map, and it was really inspired by the lack
of quality information and research available about late
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