Brutalist Architecture
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Brutalist architecture is an
architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...
that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the
post-war era In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
. Brutalist buildings are characterised by
minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post– World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...
constructions that showcase the bare
building materials Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-ma ...
and structural elements over decorative design. The style commonly makes use of exposed, unpainted
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
or
brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
, angular geometric shapes and a predominantly
monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochrom ...
colour palette; other materials, such as
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
,
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
, and
glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...
, are also featured. Descending from the
modernist movement Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
, Brutalism is said to be a reaction against the nostalgia of architecture in the 1940s. Derived from the Swedish phrase ''nybrutalism,'' the term "New Brutalism" was first used by British architects
Alison and Peter Smithson Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalism ...
for their pioneering approach to design. The style was further popularised in a 1955 essay by architectural critic
Reyner Banham Peter Reyner Banham Hon. FRIBA (2 March 1922 – 19 March 1988) was an English architectural critic and writer best known for his theoretical treatise ''Theory and Design in the First Machine Age'' (1960) and for his 1971 book ''Los Angeles: Th ...
, who also associated the movement with the French phrases '' béton brut'' ("raw concrete") and '' art brut'' ("raw art"). The style, as developed by architects such as the Smithsons, Hungarian-born
Ernő Goldfinger Ernő Goldfinger (11 September 1902 – 15 November 1987) was a Hungarian-born architect and designer of furniture. He moved to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, and became a key member of the Modernist architectural movement. He is most prom ...
, and the British firm Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, was partly foreshadowed by the modernist work of other architects such as French-Swiss
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
, Estonian-American
Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...
, German-American
Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...
, and Finnish Alvar Aalto. In the United Kingdom, Brutalism was featured in the design of utilitarian, low-cost
social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...
influenced by
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
principles and soon spread to other regions around the world. Brutalist designs became most commonly used in the design of institutional buildings, such as
universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
,
libraries A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...
,
court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
s, and city halls. The popularity of the movement began to decline in the late 1970s, with some associating the style with
urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
and
totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...
. Brutalism has been polarising historically; specific buildings, as well as the movement as a whole, have drawn a range of criticism (often being described as "cold" or "soulless") but have also elicited support from architects and local communities (with many Brutalist buildings having become cultural icons, sometimes obtaining listed status). In recent decades, the movement has become a subject of renewed interest. In 2006, several Bostonian architects called for a rebranding of the style to "Heroic architecture" to distance it from the negative connotations of the term "brutalism".


History

The term Nybrutalism (New Brutalism) was coined by the Swedish architect
Hans Asplund Hans Asplund (16 August 1921 – 8 January 1994) was a Swedish architect. His work was part of the architecture event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympi ...
to describe Villa Göth, a modern brick home in
Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...
, designed in January 1950Hans Asplund's letter to Eric De Mare, Architectural Review, August 1956 by his contemporaries Bengt Edman and Lennart Holm. Showcasing the 'as found' design approach that would later be at the core of Brutalism, the house displays visible
I-beam An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish language, Polish, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Spanish language, Spanish ...
s over windows, exposed brick inside and out, and poured concrete in several rooms where the tongue-and-groove pattern of the boards used to build the forms can be seen. The term was picked up in the summer of 1950 by a group of visiting English architects, including
Michael Ventris Michael George Francis Ventris, (; 12 July 1922 – 6 September 1956) was an English architect, classicist and philologist who deciphered Linear B, the ancient Mycenaean Greek script. A student of languages, Ventris had pursued deciphermen ...
, Oliver Cox, and Graeme Shankland, where it apparently "spread like wildfire, and assubsequently adopted by a certain faction of young British architects".The New Brutalism, Reyner Banham, Architectural Press, London 1966, p10 The first published usage of the phrase "New Brutalism" occurred in 1953, when Alison Smithson used it to describe a plan for their unbuilt
Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...
house which appeared in the November issue of '' Architectural Design''. She further stated "It is our intention in this building to have the structure exposed entirely, without interior finishes wherever practicable." The Smithsons'
Hunstanton School Smithdon High School (formerly known as Hunstanton Secondary Modern School and Hunstanton School) is a small comprehensive school (ages 11–16) academy, with 627 students in Hunstanton, Norfolk. Its buildings are Grade II* listed. It change ...
completed in 1954 in
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, and the Sugden House completed in 1955 in
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
, represent the earliest examples of New Brutalism in the United Kingdom. Hunstanton school, likely inspired by
Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...
's 1946 Alumni Memorial Hall at the
Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...
in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, United States, is notable as the first completed building in the world to carry the title of "New Brutalist" by its architects. At the time, it was described as "the most truly modern building in England". The term gained increasingly wider recognition when British architectural historian
Reyner Banham Peter Reyner Banham Hon. FRIBA (2 March 1922 – 19 March 1988) was an English architectural critic and writer best known for his theoretical treatise ''Theory and Design in the First Machine Age'' (1960) and for his 1971 book ''Los Angeles: Th ...
used it to identify both an ethic and aesthetic style, in his 1955 essay ''The New Brutalism''. In the essay, Banham described Hunstanton and the Soho house as the "reference by which The New Brutalism in architecture may be defined." Reyner Banham also associated the term New Brutalism with Art Brut and '' béton brut'', meaning raw concrete in French, for the first time.British Brutalism.
''World Monument Fund''.
The best-known ''béton brut'' architecture is the proto-Brutalist work of the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, in particular his 1952 ''
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'' in
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
, France; the 1953 Secretariat Building ( Palace of Assembly) in
Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
, India; and the 1955 church of
Notre Dame du Haut Notre-Dame du Haut ( en, Our Lady of the Heights; full name in french: Chapelle Notre-Dame du Haut) is a Roman Catholic chapel in Ronchamp, France. Built in 1955, it is one of the finest examples of the architecture of Franco-Swiss architect Le C ...
in
Ronchamp Ronchamp () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is located between the Vosges and the Jura mountains. Mining Museum Mining began in Ronchamp in the mid-18th century and h ...
, France. Banham further expanded his thoughts in the 1966 book, ''The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic?'', to characterise a somewhat recently established cluster of architectural approaches, particularly in Europe. In the book, Banham says that Le Corbusier's concrete work was a source of inspiration and helped popularise the movement, suggesting "if there is one single verbal formula that has made the concept of Brutalism admissible in most of the world's Western languages, it is that Le Corbusier himself described that concrete work as ' béton-brut'". He further states that "the words 'The New Brutalism' were already circulating, and had acquired some depth of meaning through things said and done, over and above the widely recognised connection with ''béton brut''. The phrase still 'belonged' to the Smithsons, however, and it was their activities above all others that were giving distinctive qualities to the concept of Brutalism."


Characteristics

New Brutalism is not only an architectural style; it is also a philosophical approach to architectural design, a striving to create simple, honest, and functional buildings that accommodate their purpose, inhabitants, and location. Stylistically, Brutalism is a strict, modernistic design language that has been said to be a reaction to the architecture of the 1940s, much of which was characterised by a retrospective nostalgia. Peter Smithson believed that the core of Brutalism was a reverence for materials, expressed honestly, stating "Brutalism is not concerned with the material as such but rather the quality of material", and "the seeing of materials for what they were: the woodness of the wood; the sandiness of sand." Architect John Voelcker explained that the "New Brutalism" in architecture "cannot be understood through stylistic analysis, although some day a comprehensible style might emerge", supporting the Smithsons' description of the movement as "an ethic, not an aesthetic". Reyner Banham felt the phrase "the New Brutalism" existed as both an attitude toward design as well as a descriptive label for the architecture itself and that it "eludes precise description, while remaining a living force". He attempted to codify the movement in systematic language, insisting that a Brutalist structure must satisfy the following terms, "1, Formal legibility of plan; 2, clear exhibition of structure, and 3, valuation of materials for their inherent qualities 'as found'." Also important was the aesthetic "image", or "coherence of the building as a visual entity". Brutalist buildings are usually constructed with reoccurring modular elements representing specific functional zones, distinctly articulated and grouped together into a unified whole. There is often an emphasis on graphic expressions in the external elevations and in the whole-site
architectural plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...
in regard to the main functions and people-flows of the buildings. Buildings may use materials such as concrete, brick, glass, steel, timber, rough-hewn stone, and
gabion A gabion (from Italian ''gabbione'' meaning "big cage"; from Italian ''gabbia'' and Latin ''cavea'' meaning "cage") is a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road buildin ...
s among others. However, due to its low cost, raw concrete is often used and left to reveal the basic nature of its construction with rough surfaces featuring wood 'shuttering' produced when the forms were cast in-situ. Examples are frequently massive in character (even when not large) and challenge traditional notions of what a building should look like with focus given to interior spaces as much as exterior. A common theme in Brutalist designs is the exposure of the building's inner-workings—ranging from their structure and services to their human use—in the exterior of the building. In the
Boston City Hall Boston City Hall is the seat of city government of Boston, Massachusetts. It includes the offices of the mayor of Boston and the Boston City Council. The current hall was built in 1968 to assume the functions of the Old City Hall. It is a con ...
, designed in 1962, the strikingly different and projected portions of the building indicate the special nature of the rooms behind those walls, such as the mayor's office or the city council chambers. From another perspective, the design of the
Hunstanton School Smithdon High School (formerly known as Hunstanton Secondary Modern School and Hunstanton School) is a small comprehensive school (ages 11–16) academy, with 627 students in Hunstanton, Norfolk. Its buildings are Grade II* listed. It change ...
included placing the facility's water tank, normally a hidden service feature, in a prominent, visible tower. Rather than being hidden in the walls, Hunstanton's water and electric utilities were delivered via readily visible pipes and conduits. Brutalism as an architectural philosophy was often associated with a
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
n ideology, which tended to be supported by its designers, especially by
Alison and Peter Smithson Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalism ...
, near the height of the style. Indeed, their work sought to emphasize functionality and to connect architecture with what they viewed as the realities of modern life. Among their early contributions were "
streets in the sky A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...
" in which traffic and pedestrian circulation were rigorously separated, another theme popular in the 1960s. This style had a strong position in the architecture of European
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
countries from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s (
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
,
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
,
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
,
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
). In Czechoslovakia, Brutalism was presented as an attempt to create a "national" but also "modern socialist" architectural style. Such prefabricated socialist era buildings are called panelaky.


Designers

Architects whose work reflects certain aspects of the Brutalist style include
Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...
. Architectural historian
William Jordy William H. Jordy (1917 – 10 August 1997) was a leading American architectural historian. At the time of his death, Jordy was Henry Ledyard Goddard Professor Emeritus of Art History at Brown University, where he taught for many years. Jordy rec ...
says that although Kahn was " posed to what he regarded as the muscular posturing of most Brutalism", some of his work "was surely informed by some of the same ideas that came to momentary focus in the Brutalist position." In
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, examples of the Brutalist style are Robin Gibson's
Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galler ...
,
Ken Woolley Kenneth Frank Charles Woolley, AM B Arch, Hon DSc Arch Sydney LFRAIA, FTSE, Architect, (29 May 1933 – 25 November 2015) was an Australian architect. In a career spanning 60 years, he is best known for his contributions to project housing with ...
's Fisher Library at the University of Sydney (his State Office Block is another), the
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...
by
Colin Madigan Colin Frederick Madigan AO (22 July 192117 September 2011) was an Australian architect. He is best known for designing the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Biography Born in Glen Innes, New South Wales, Madigan studied architecture ...
in
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, the MUSE building (also referred to as C7A MUSE) which was the original
Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
at Macquarie University before the new library replaced it, and
WTC Wharf WTC Wharf (formerly the World Trade Centre and WTC Northbank) is a twelve-storey office complex on the north bank of the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia. History On 19 December 1978, the Government of Victoria passed the Port of Melbourn ...
(World Trade Centre in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
). John Andrews's government and institutional structures in Australia also exhibit the style.
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
possesses numerous examples of Brutalist architecture. In the years leading to the 100th anniversary of the Confederation in 1967, the Federal Government financed the construction of many public buildings. Major Brutalist examples, not all built as part of the
Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1, 1967. Commemorative coins ...
, include the
Grand Théâtre de Québec The Grand Théâtre de Québec is a performing arts complex in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was conceived to commemorate the Canadian Centennial of 1967 and the Quebec Conference, 1864, one of the key meetings leading to the Canadian Confedera ...
, the
Édifice Marie-Guyart The Édifice Marie-Guyart, previously and still commonly known as Complexe G, is a 31- storey, office skyscraper completed in 1972 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The brutalist style tower is the tallest building in the city, as well as the ta ...
(formerly Complex-G),
Hôtel Le Concorde Hôtel Le Concorde Québec is a skyscraper hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It contains 405 rooms over 26 floors. Le Concorde is known for its revolving restaurant, Ciel! (formerly L'Astral), which is situated on the top floor of the hotel ...
, and much of the
Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Lux ...
campus in Quebec City;
Habitat 67 HABITAT 67, or simply Habitat, is a housing complex at Cité du Havre, on the Saint Lawrence River, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. It originated in his master's thesis at the School of Architectu ...
,
Place Bonaventure Place Bonaventure is an office, exhibition, and hotel complex in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, adjacent to the city's Central Station. At in size, Place Bonaventure was the second largest commercial building in the world at the time of its ...
, the
Maison de Radio-Canada Maison Radio-Canada (English: ''CBC House'') is the broadcast headquarters, studios and master control for all French-language radio and television services of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in French as ''Société Radio-Canada''/S ...
, and several metro stations on the Montreal Metro's Green Line; the
Confederation Centre of the Arts Confederation Centre of the Arts (french: Centre des arts de la Confédération) is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual and performing arts located in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. History Construction of Confede ...
in Charlottetown; the National Arts Centre in Ottawa; the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston; the
Ontario Science Centre The Ontario Science Centre, formally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology, is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the Don Valley Parkway about northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road just south of Eg ...
,
Robarts Library The John P. Robarts Research Library, commonly referred to as Robarts Library, is the main humanities and social sciences library of the University of Toronto Libraries and the largest individual library in the university. Opened in 1973 and n ...
,
Rochdale College Rochdale College was an experiment in student-run alternative education and co-operative living in Toronto, Canada from 1968 to 1975. It provided space for 840 residents in a co-operative living space. It was also an informal, noncredited free ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
; and the church of the
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
in British Columbia. In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, architects associated with the Brutalist style include
Ernő Goldfinger Ernő Goldfinger (11 September 1902 – 15 November 1987) was a Hungarian-born architect and designer of furniture. He moved to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, and became a key member of the Modernist architectural movement. He is most prom ...
, wife-and-husband pairing
Alison and Peter Smithson Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalism ...
, some of the work of Sir
Basil Spence Sir Basil Urwin Spence, (13 August 1907 – 19 November 1976) was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Moderni ...
, the
London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
/
Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
Architects Department, Owen Luder, John Bancroft, and, arguably perhaps, Sir
Denys Lasdun Sir Denys Louis Lasdun, CH, CBE, RA (8 September 1914, Kensington, London – 11 January 2001, Fulham, London) was an eminent English architect, the son of Nathan Lasdun (1879–1920) and Julie (''née'' Abrahams; 1884–1963). Probably his b ...
, Sir
Leslie Martin Sir John Leslie Martin (17 August 1908, in Manchester – 28 July 2000) was an English architect, and a leading advocate of the International Style. Martin's most famous building is the Royal Festival Hall. His work was especially influence ...
, Sir James Stirling and
James Gowan James Gowan (18 October 1923 – 12 June 2015) was a Scottish-born architect known for his post-modernist designs of the "engineering style" which influenced a generation of British architects. Life Gowan was born in Pollokshields, Glasgow in ...
with their early works. Some well-known examples of Brutalist-influenced architecture in the British capital include the
Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...
(
Chamberlin, Powell and Bon Chamberlin, Powell and Bon was a British firm of architects whose work involved designing the Barbican Estate. They are considered one of the most important modernist architectural firms in post-war England. Formation The practice was founde ...
) and the National Theatre (
Denys Lasdun Sir Denys Louis Lasdun, CH, CBE, RA (8 September 1914, Kensington, London – 11 January 2001, Fulham, London) was an eminent English architect, the son of Nathan Lasdun (1879–1920) and Julie (''née'' Abrahams; 1884–1963). Probably his b ...
). In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Paul Rudolph and
Ralph Rapson Ralph Rapson (September 13, 1914 – March 29, 2008) was Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota for 30 years. He was one of the world's oldest practicing architects at his death at age 93, and also one of the most ...
were both noted Brutalists.
Evans Woollen III Evans Woollen III (August 10, 1927 – May 17, 2016) was an American architect who is credited for introducing the Modern and the Brutalist architecture styles to his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. Woollen, a fellow of the American Institute ...
, a pacesetter among architects in the
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
, is credited for introducing the Brutalist and Modernist architecture styles to
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
,
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
.
Walter Netsch Walter A. Netsch (February 23, 1920 – June 15, 2008) was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture as well as with the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. His signature aes ...
is known for his Brutalist academic buildings.
Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer. At the Bauhaus he designed the Wassily Chair and the Cesca Chair, which ''The New York Times'' have called some of the most i ...
was known for his "soft" approach to the style, often using curves rather than corners. In
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, the architectural style was introduced to Buckhead's affluent Peachtree Road with the Ted Levy-designed Plaza Towers and
Park Place on Peachtree A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...
condominiums. Many of the stations of the
Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview
, particularly older stations, were constructed in the Brutalist style. In
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, Božidar Janković was a representative of the so-called "Belgrade School of residence", identifiable by its functionalist relations on the basis of the flat and elaborated in detail the architecture. Known example,
Western City Gate The Western City Gate ( sr, Западна капија Београда, Zapadna kapija Beograda), also known as the Genex Tower ( sr, Кула Генекс, Kula Geneks) is a 36-story skyscraper in Belgrade, Serbia, which was designed in 1977 b ...
also known as the Genex Tower is a 36-
storey A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). T ...
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
,
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, which was designed in 1977 by . It is formed by two towers connected with a two-storey bridge and
revolving restaurant A revolving restaurant or rotating restaurant is usually a tower restaurant eating space designed to rest atop a broad circular revolving platform that operates as a large turntable. The building remains stationary and the diners are carried on ...
at the top. It is tall (with restaurant ) and is the second-tallest high-rise in Belgrade after Ušće Tower. The building was designed in the brutalist style with some elements of structuralism and
constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...
. It is considered a prime representative of the brutalist architecture in Serbia and one of the best of its style built in the 1960s and the 1970s in the world. The treatment of the form and details is slightly associating the building with
postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...
and is today one of the rare surviving representatives of this style's early period in Serbia. The artistic expression of the gate marked an entire era in Serbian architecture.


On university campuses

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, many North American universities constructed campus buildings in the Brutalist style due to their low cost and ease of construction, beginning with Paul Rudolph's 1958
Yale Art and Architecture Building Rudolph Hall, also known as the Yale Art and Architecture Building or the A & A Building, is one of the earliest and best known examples of Brutalist architecture in the United States. The building houses Yale University's School of Architecture ...
. Rudolph's design for the
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth or UMassD) is a public research university in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. It is the southernmost campus of the University of Massachusetts system. Formerly Southeastern Massachusetts Un ...
is an example of an entire campus designed in the Brutalist style.
Walter Netsch Walter A. Netsch (February 23, 1920 – June 15, 2008) was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture as well as with the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. His signature aes ...
designed the entire University of Illinois-Chicago Circle Campus (now the East Campus of the
University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
) under a single, unified Brutalist design. John M. Johansen and
Evans Woollen III Evans Woollen III (August 10, 1927 – May 17, 2016) was an American architect who is credited for introducing the Modern and the Brutalist architecture styles to his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. Woollen, a fellow of the American Institute ...
's Brutalist-style
Clowes Memorial Hall Clowes Memorial Hall, officially known as Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University, is a performance hall located on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Opened October 18, 1963, it hosts numerous significant ...
, a performing arts facility that opened in 1963 on the campus of
Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...
in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, was praised for its bold and dramatic design. In 1964,
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
inaugurated the
Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center The Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center (HFAC) is the main location for Brigham Young University's (BYU) College of Fine Arts and Communications, housing most of the college's departments and divisions. It consists of several named stages and ...
, which features a largely Brutalist style of architecture. The
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
's
Joseph Regenstein Library The Joseph Regenstein Library, commonly known as "The Reg" is the main library of the University of Chicago, named after industrialist and philanthropist Joseph Regenstein. It is one of the largest repositories of books in the world and is noted f ...
, one of the largest libraries in the world, is designed in the Brutalist style, as is the
Northwestern University Library Northwestern University Libraries is the main academic library system of Northwestern University. The library holds 7.9 million item including 228,505 maps, 107,446 print journals and 173,089 electronic journals, making it the 11th largest librar ...
; both are the work of architect Walter Netsch. The
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
's West Bank campus features several Brutalist buildings, including the performing arts venue,
Rarig Center The Rarig Center is a brutalist theater, television, radio, and classroom building on the University of Minnesota's campus in the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, US. Designed by Ralph Rapson and built in 1971, the structure hous ...
, one of Ralph Rapson's most important works and the best example of Brutalism in the Twin Cities. Brown University's two largest libraries and Graduate Center are significant brutalist works. The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library and the
Sciences Library (Brown University) The Sciences Library, nicknamed the "SciLi" (pronounced “sigh-lie”), at Brown University is a high-rise building in Providence, Rhode Island built in 1971 in the Brutalist style. At , it is tied with One Citizens Plaza as the 16th-tallest bui ...
were designed by
Danforth Toan Danforth Toan (1918-2013) was an architect known for Brutalist architecture who specialized in college libraries across North America. As a founding partner at Warner Burn Toan & Lunde Architects, he contributed to the design of dozens of buildings ...
, whose firm also designed the
Robarts Library The John P. Robarts Research Library, commonly referred to as Robarts Library, is the main humanities and social sciences library of the University of Toronto Libraries and the largest individual library in the university. Opened in 1973 and n ...
at the University of Toronto. The
Boston Architectural College Boston Architectural College, also known as The BAC, is New England's largest private college of spatial design. It offers first-professional bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and ...
's main building, designed by Ashley, Myer & Associates, was completed in 1966. The design uses cantilevered, suspended masonry masses and accentuated vertical "slits" in the exterior by which some of the building's core functions can be seen from the outside. Open studio floors allow students to look in on one another's classes and studios, and the ground floor, open to
Newbury Street Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east–west, from the Boston Public Garden to Brookline Avenue. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entran ...
, invites the general public into the McCormick Gallery. The building also features administration offices and two libraries.
Litchfield Towers Litchfield Towers, commonly referred to on campus as "Towers", is a complex of residence halls at the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Litchfield Towers is both the largest and talle ...
at the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
was completed in 1963 and is composed of three cylindrical Brutalist towers. The university's largest academic building,
Wesley W. Posvar Hall Wesley W. Posvar Hall (WWPH), formerly known as Forbes Quadrangle, is a landmark building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. At it is the largest academic-use building on campus, providing ...
, is a Brutalist structure completed in 1978. The
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...
Belknap Campus has several Brutalist buildings, including the Bingham Humanities Building and the Interfaith Center. The Andrews Building at the
University of Toronto Scarborough The University of Toronto Scarborough, also known as U of T Scarborough or UTSC, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the campus is set up ...
was built in a Brutalist architectural style and completed in 1964. In 1965, Desert Modern architect E. Stewart Williams was commissioned to design a new campus for the San Bernardino Community College District. Construction of
Crafton Hills College Crafton Hills College (CHC) is a public community college in Yucaipa, California. CHC is part of the California Community College system. It offers associate degrees and career and technical certificates. Since its opening in 1972, more than 200 ...
began a year later, and the last building that was part of his original campus plan was completed in 1976. Williams' Brutalist design contrasts with the steep terrain of the area and was chosen in part because it provided a
firebreak A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...
from the surrounding environment. The Iowa State Center at Iowa State University originally consisted of five buildings in the Brutalist style, including a theatre, auditorium, coliseum, stadium, and events centre, as well as connecting elevated promenades. Eliot Hall, the remaining half of a pair of brutalist buildings built in 1972 on the campus of
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
was demolished in 2012. At the same period in the United Kingdom, similar expansion of higher education led to the construction of many Brutalist university buildings, notable examples being the Main Library at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, designed by Sir
Basil Spence Sir Basil Urwin Spence, (13 August 1907 – 19 November 1976) was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Moderni ...
, the Boyd Orr Building at the
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
, the
University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...
, and
Denys Lasdun Sir Denys Louis Lasdun, CH, CBE, RA (8 September 1914, Kensington, London – 11 January 2001, Fulham, London) was an eminent English architect, the son of Nathan Lasdun (1879–1920) and Julie (''née'' Abrahams; 1884–1963). Probably his b ...
's halls of residence at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
and Christ's College, Cambridge. The exterior of the
University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
's
Andrew Melville Hall Andrew Melville Hall is a student hall of residence of the University of St Andrews located in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was built in 1967 in the brutalist style, and it accommodates approximately 275 students. History Designed in the Ne ...
was used as the set for Dover Recovery Centre in the film ''Never Let Me Go''. In countries other than North America and the United Kingdom examples of brutalist university campuses can be found, such as the
Vrije Universiteit The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...
, located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A common complaint is that windows cannot be opened anywhere in the building.


Criticism and reception

Brutalism has some severe critics, including
Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
, whose speeches and writings on architecture have criticised Brutalism, calling many of the structures "piles of concrete" and likening them to "a monstrous carbuncle". A 2014 article in ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' noted its unpopularity with the public, observing that a campaign to demolish a building will usually be directed against a Brutalist one. In 2005, the British TV program ''
Demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
'' ran a public vote to select twelve buildings that ought to be demolished, and eight of those selected were Brutalist buildings. One argument is that this criticism exists in part because concrete façades do not age well in damp, cloudy
maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
s such as those of northwestern Europe and
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
. In these climates, the concrete becomes streaked with water stains and sometimes with
moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
and lichens, and rust stains from the steel reinforcing bars. Critics of the style find the style unappealing due to its "cold" appearance, projecting an atmosphere of
totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...
, as well as the association of the buildings with
urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
due to materials weathering poorly in certain climates and the surfaces being prone to vandalism by graffiti. Despite this, the style is appreciated by others, and preservation efforts are taking place in the United Kingdom. At the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
campus, outrage and vocal distaste for Brutalism led, in part, to the hiring of Christopher Alexander and the initiation of ''
The Oregon Experiment ''The Oregon Experiment'' is a 1975 book by Christopher Alexander and collaborators Murray Silverstein, Shlomo Angel, Sara Ishikawa, and Denny Abrams. It describes an experimental approach to campus community planning at the University of Oreg ...
'' in the late 1970s. This led to the development of Alexander's ''
A Pattern Language ''A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction'' is a 1977 book on architecture, urban design, and community livability. It was authored by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein of the Center for Environmental Struc ...
'' and ''
The Timeless Way of Building ''The Timeless Way of Building'' is a 1979 book by Christopher Alexander that proposes a new theory of architecture (and design in general) that relies on the understanding and configuration of design patterns. Although it came out later, it is es ...
''.
Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 '' Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and ...
, a British author, physician, and conservative political commentator, has written for ''
City Journal ''City Journal'' is a public policy magazine and website, published by the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, that covers a range of topics on urban affairs, such as policing, education, housing, and other issues. The magazine ...
'' that Brutalist structures represent an artefact of European philosophical totalitarianism, a "spiritual, intellectual, and moral deformity." He called the buildings "cold-hearted", "inhuman", "hideous" and "monstrous". He stated that the reinforced concrete "does not age gracefully but instead crumbles, stains, and decays", which makes alternative building styles superior.


Brutalism now

Although the Brutalist movement was largely over by the late 1970s and early 1980s, having largely given way to
Structural Expressionism High-tech architecture, also known as structural expressionism, is a type of late modernist architecture that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high tech industry and technology into building design. High-tech architecture grew fro ...
and
Deconstructivism Deconstructivism is a movement of postmodern architecture which appeared in the 1980s. It gives the impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building, commonly characterised by an absence of obvious harmony, continuity, or symmetry. ...
, it has experienced a resurgence of interest since 2015 with the publication of a variety of guides and books, including ''Brutal London'' (Zupagrafika, 2015), ''Brutalist London Map'' (2015), ''This Brutal World'' (2016), ''SOS Brutalism: A Global Survey'' (2017) as well as the lavish ''Atlas of Brutalist Architecture'' (Phaidon, 2018). Many of the defining aspects of the style have been softened in newer buildings, with concrete façades often being
sandblasted Sandblasting, sometimes known as abrasive blasting, is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface or remove su ...
to create a stone-like surface, covered in
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
, or composed of patterned, pre-cast elements. These elements are also found in renovations of older Brutalist buildings, such as the redevelopment of Sheffield's Park Hill. Villa Göth was listed as historically significant by the Uppsala county administrative board on 3 March 1995. Several Brutalist buildings in the United Kingdom have been granted
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
status as historic and others, such as
Gillespie, Kidd & Coia Gillespie, Kidd & Coia was a Scottish architectural firm famous for their application of modernism in churches and universities, as well as at St Peter's Seminary in Cardross. Though founded in 1927, they are best known for their work in the ...
's St. Peter's Seminary, named by '' Prospect'' magazine's survey of architects as Scotland's greatest post-war building, have been the subject of conservation campaigns. Similar buildings in the United States have been recognized, such as the Pirelli Building in New Haven's Long Wharf. The
Twentieth Century Society The Twentieth Century Society (C20) is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests embrace buildings and artefacts that characterise 20th-century Britain. It is for ...
has unsuccessfully campaigned against the demolition of British buildings such as the
Tricorn Centre The Tricorn Centre was a shopping, nightclub and car park complex in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It was designed in the Brutalist style by Owen Luder and Rodney Gordon and took its name from the site's shape which from the air resembled ...
and Trinity Square multi-storey car park, but successfully in the case of Preston bus station garage, London's
Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the R ...
and others. Notable buildings that have been demolished include the Smithson's
Robin Hood Gardens Robin Hood Gardens is a residential estate in Poplar, London, designed in the late 1960s by architects Alison and Peter Smithson and completed in 1972. It was built as a council housing estate with homes spread across 'streets in the sky': s ...
(2017) in East London,
John Madin John Hardcastle Dalton Madin (23 March 1924 – 8 January 2012) was an English architect. His company, known as John H D Madin & Partners from 1962 and the John Madin Design Group from 1968, was active in Birmingham for over 30 years. Bio ...
's
Birmingham Central Library Birmingham Central Library was the main public library in Birmingham, England, from 1974 until 2013, replacing a library opened in 1865 and rebuilt in 1882. For a time the largest non-national library in Europe, it closed on 29 June 2013 and was ...
(2016), Marcel Breuer's
American Press Institute The American Press Institute is an educational non-advocacy 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization affiliated with the News Media Alliance (formerly the Newspaper Association of America). The institute's mission is to encourage the advancement of news m ...
Building in
Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...
, Araldo Cossutta's Third Church of Christ, Scientist in Washington, D.C. (2014), and the Welbeck Street car park in London (2019). Notable buildings which are threatened include the Sirius building in Sydney and
Atlanta Central Library The Atlanta Central Library in Downtown Atlanta is the main library and headquarters of the Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System. The library, built from 1977 to 1980, has a Brutalist design by architect Marcel Breuer – his last work, and ...
in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.


Gallery

File:Wien - Wotrubakirche (0).JPG,
Wotruba Church The Kirche Zur Heiligsten Dreifaltigkeit ( en, Church of the Most Holy Trinity) in Vienna, better known as the Wotruba Church, is located on the Sankt Georgenberg in Mauer (corner of Rysergasse and Georgsgasse) in Liesing, the 23rd District of ...
in Vienna (1974–76) was designed from a model by sculptor
Fritz Wotruba Fritz Wotruba (23 April 1907, Vienna, Austria – 28 August 1975, Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor of Czecho- Hungarian descent. He was considered one of the most notable sculptors of the 20th century in Austria. In his work, he increasingly di ...
and was a collaboration with Fritz G. Mayr, who continued the work after Wotruba's death. File:München - Pharao-Haus (Zugangsweg).jpg, "Pyramide" ("Pharao-Haus" or "Terrassenhochhaus") in Munich, Germany, architect Karl Helmut Bayer, 1974. Apartment building inspired by
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
's principles of modernism.Deutsches Architekturmuseum 2022 https://www.sosbrutalism.org/cms/19749520 File:Obchodný dom Prior.JPG, Tesco Shopping Centre (1962) in Košice,
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
; previously known as Obchodný dom Prior. File:University of Leicester Engineering Building from Victoria Park.jpg, The Engineering Building (1959–63) at the
University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...
, England. Designed by James Stirling, it is Grade II* listed. File:Economist building London1.jpg, The City of Westminster's Smithson Plaza (1959–65), formerly known as The Economist Building, served as the headquarters of ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' until 2017. On St James's Street in Piccadilly, London, it was designed by
Alison and Peter Smithson Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalism ...
. File:Universität von East Anglia.jpg, Halls of residence at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
(completed 1966), designed by
Denys Lasdun Sir Denys Louis Lasdun, CH, CBE, RA (8 September 1914, Kensington, London – 11 January 2001, Fulham, London) was an eminent English architect, the son of Nathan Lasdun (1879–1920) and Julie (''née'' Abrahams; 1884–1963). Probably his b ...
File:Palácio da Justiça (Lisbon), Metro Centric, 2015, 24025730286.jpg, Palace of Justice,
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
(1970) File:Robin Hood Gardens AP Smithson.jpg,
Robin Hood Gardens Robin Hood Gardens is a residential estate in Poplar, London, designed in the late 1960s by architects Alison and Peter Smithson and completed in 1972. It was built as a council housing estate with homes spread across 'streets in the sky': s ...
(1972) housing complex in Poplar, East London. Designed by the Smithsons. File:قصر الزقورة.jpg,
Al Zaqura Building ''Al-Zaqura'' Palace (Arabic: قصر الزقورة) is an Iraqi government building situated in the Green Zone in the capital Baghdad. Maintained by the office of the Prime Minister of Iraq, it is occupied by the office of the prime minister. ...
, Baghdad (1975) File:METU, Faculty of Architecture (14826813346).jpg, Middle East Technical University Lecture Hall, Turkey (1956) File:METU, Rectorate Building (14849783445).jpg, Middle East Technical University Rector Building, Turkey (1961–1980) File:Smolna 8 in Warsaw.jpg, Młotek in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
(1976) File:Perth concert hall 01 gnangarra.jpg, Perth Concert Hall, in Perth, Australia (1973) File:Jugotours Beograd Dec 2003.jpg,
Western City Gate The Western City Gate ( sr, Западна капија Београда, Zapadna kapija Beograda), also known as the Genex Tower ( sr, Кула Генекс, Kula Geneks) is a 36-story skyscraper in Belgrade, Serbia, which was designed in 1977 b ...
(1979),
Belgrade, Serbia Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mill ...
File:BYU Harris Fine Arts Center.JPG,
BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...
's
Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center The Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center (HFAC) is the main location for Brigham Young University's (BYU) College of Fine Arts and Communications, housing most of the college's departments and divisions. It consists of several named stages and ...
File:Metro Washington 05.jpg, The interior of the
Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview
.


See also

*
Utopian architecture Utopian architecture is architecture inspired by utopianism. Examples for such an architecture are Phalanstère, Arcology and Garden Cities. Earthships are realizations of the utopia of sustainable living and autonomous housing. Also, the concept ...


References


Further reading

* * * * Monzo, Luigi: Plädoyer für herbe Schönheiten. Gastbeitrag im Rahmen der Austellung "SOS Brutalismus – Rettet die Betonmonster". ''
Pforzheimer Zeitung ''Pforzheimer Zeitung'' is an independent local subscription newspaper with seat in Pforzheim, which is mainly distributed and read in the city of Pforzheim and the surrounding Enz district. Its language of publication is German and it appears dai ...
'', 27. February 2018, p. 6. * Anna Rita Emili, ''Pure and simple, the architecture of New Brutalism,'' Ed.Kappa Rome 2008 * Anna Rita Emili, ''Architettura estrema, il Neobrutalismo alla prova della contemporaneità'', Quodlibet, Macerata 2011 * Anna Rita Emili, ''Il Brutalismo paulista, L'architettura brasiliana tra teoria e progetto'', Manifesto Libri, Roma ISBN 978872859759, pp. 335


External links


"The incredible hulks: Jonathan Meades' A-Z of Brutalism"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brutalist Architecture 20th-century architectural styles American architectural styles British architectural styles Architecture in England by period or style 1950s architecture 1960s architecture 1970s architecture