Photobook 'Adventurous Vents' Celebrates Architecture's Hidden Infrastructure Through 100 British Ventilation Shafts

Published by Particular Books in October 2025 for £20, 'Adventurous Vents' is a photobook that delves into 100 ventilation shafts across Britain, emphasizing the complex relationship between functionality and design in architecture. Contributions from Lucy Lavers, Judy Owens, and Suzanna Prizeman highlight a range of examples, from the decorative Victorian follies to stark brutalist forms. Featured structures include Decimus Burton's chimney-campanile at Kew Gardens, the Barbican's concrete Fibonacci spiral, and the Camberwell Submarine. Among the notable vents are a 71-meter minaret chimney at Strangeways Prison and a tapered octagonal design at HM Prison Portland. Additionally, the Paternoster Column in London, a 23-meter Corinthian-style monument from the 1990s, cleverly conceals ventilation for a traffic gyratory.