Concrete: no material polarises opinion quite like it.
It can be strikingly beautiful – take the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, with its cylindrical curves and geometric convex windows – as well as pleasingly austere. Brutalist architecture in particular has fans around the world, who fight to protect buildings from demolition. In Singapore enthusiasts, including many architects who appreciate the design and historical significance of these buildings, are trying to preserve landmarks such as the horseshoe-shaped Pearl Bank Apartments after it was sold to a developer. And in London, Welbeck Street car park, a Brutalist structure completed in 1970, is to be torn down despite campaigns to protect its unique diamond-patterned facade. It will be replaced with a 10-storey hotel after plans by owner Shiva Hotels were approved.
But others find it ugly, and there are plenty of grey eyesores that blight our cities, not least the legion of half-finished concrete buildings that are scattered across almost every city on Earth.
This week we’ll be examining the impact of concrete, not least of which is its aesthetic, and we would like to see your photos of some of the best buildings – and the worst.
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Share your pictures of beautiful or ugly concrete in the form below, as well as information about where you took the photo. We will publish a gallery of selected photos at the end of this week.
Guardian Concrete Week investigates the shocking impact of concrete on the modern world. Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use the hashtag #GuardianConcreteWeek to join the discussion or sign up for our weekly newsletter
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