A special stamp collection was released by Royal Mail, the UK’s Postal Services Company, to pay tribute to 10 contemporary buildings in the United Kingdom. Whether the buildings served culture, sports, government, or business purposes, they are regarded as symbols representing the surge in the country’s architecture in the last 20 years. The series also comes to recognize the growing confidence in British architecture established by prominent architects.
SEC Armadillo, Glasgow
Philip Parker, Head of Stamp Strategy at Royal Mail, said: “These new stamps celebrate visionary buildings which combine stunning architecture with great engineering.”
Buildings like the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Giants’ Causeway Visitor Centre in Northern Ireland, Herzog & de Meuron‘s Switch House in London, the Library of Birmingham by Mecanoo, and Zaha Hadid‘s London Aquatics Center are included in the collection.
Library of Birmingham
GBH, a London-based design agency, was appointed by Royal Mail to design the stamps, while Hufton + Crow, who had previously shot a series of bridges in the UK to be used for Royal Mail stamps, was responsible for the photography. Taking the stamps’ square format into consideration, the photographers attempted, in the photo sessions, to grasp the architect’s vision and mold it into one perfect image. They offered the postal agency a selection of different shots for each building to choose from.
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- eden project, st austell by grimshaw
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- library of birmingham by mecanoo
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- london aquatics centre by zaha hadid architects
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- switch house, tate modern, london by herzog & de meuron
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- scottish parliament, edinburgh by enric miralles and benedetta tagliabue
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- everyman theatre, liverpool by haworth tompkins
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- national assembly for wales, cardiff by rogers stirk harbour + partners
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- IWM north, manchester by daniel libeskind
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- SEC armadillo, glasgow by foster + partners
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- giant’s causeway visitor centre by heneghan peng architects
