Western City Gates
Russian scientific Center
Sydney Opera House
Marina Towers
Spomenik MemorialS
Unité d'Habitation
ArmStrong Rubber BuildinG
Dallas City Hall
Geisel Library
to
you know
it when you see it. Hulking slabs
of concrete, retro-futurist designs befitting a Bond villain (see Ian Fleming below), enormous palaces of faceless bureaucracy. Check, check, and check. But Brutalism also has room for some amazing outliers, buildings that fit the mold while pushing the movement’s boundaries.
CLick tabS
With Brutalism,
Unité d'Habitation
by
Marseilles, France
1952
Western City Gates
Russian scientific Center
sydney opera house
Spomenik MemorialS
marina towers
Armstrong Rubber Building
Dallas City Hall
Geisel Library
Intro
Western City gates
Russian scientific center
Sydney opera house
Spomenik MemorialS
Marina towers
armstrong rubber building
Dallas City hall
Intro
Geisel Library
Western city gates
Russian scientific center
Sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
Marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Dallas city Hall
Intro
Geisel Library
Western City Gates
Russian scientific center
Sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
Marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Dallas City Hall
Intro
Geisel library
western city gates
russian scientific cetner
sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
Marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong rubber building
Intro
geisel library
Western city gates
Russian scientific center
sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong rubber building
Intro
Geisel library
Western city Gates
Russian scientific center
Sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
Marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong Rubber Building
Dallas City Hall
Intro
Western city gates
Russian scientific center
Sydney Opera House
Spomenik Memorials
Marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong rubber building
Dallas City Hall
Intro
Russian scientific center
Sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
Marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong Rubber building
Dallas City Hall
Intro
Geisel Library
Russian scientific center
Sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
Marina Towers
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong rubber building
Dallas City Hall
Intro
Geisel library
Western city gates
Sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong rubber building
Dallas City hall
Intro
Geisel library
western city gates
Sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
armstrong rubber building
dallas city hall
Intro
geisel library
Western city gates
russian scientific center
Spomenik Memorials
marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
armstrong rubber building
dallas city hall
Intro
Geisel library
Western city gates
Russian scientific center
Spomenik Memorials
marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong rubber building
Dallas city hall
Intro
Geisel library
Western city gates
russian scientific center
sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong Rubber Building
Dallas City Hall
Intro
Geisel library
Western City Gates
Russian scientific center
Sydney opera house
Spomenik Memorials
Unité d'Habitation
armstrong rubber building
dallas city hall
Intro
Geisel Library
Western City Gates
Russian Scientific Center
Sydney Opera House
Marina Towers
Unité D'Habitation
Armstrong rubber building
Dallas City Hall
Intro
Geisel Library
Western City Gates
Russian Scientific Center
Sydney Opera House
Marina Towers
Unité D'Habitation
Armstrong rubber building
Dallas City Hall
Intro
Geisel library
Western city gates
Russian scientific center
Sydney opera house
Spomenik memorials
marina towers
Unité d'Habitation
Armstrong rubber building
Dallas city hall
Geisel library
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Brutalist
Architecture
Brutalist
to
Guide
Complete
A
to
Guide
Complete
A
Dabblers
& Devotees
its famous practitioners. But what’s most interesting about the style is that
it had many architects who tried to use the style, then went on to other things. Even Le Corbusier, who named and created Brutalism, is as much associated with the International Style and the late-era of the Bauhaus. There are a few, though, who stand out within the annals of Brutalism as having truly dedicated themselves to the movement.
Brutalism Has
Brutalism
Every Year,
to
Le Corbusier
by
Marcel Breuer
New Haven, Ct.
1970
The Armstrong Rubber Building
by
I.M. Pei
Dallas, TX.
1978
Dallas City Hall
by
William L. Pereira
& Associates
University of
California, San Diego
1970
Geisel Library
by
Mihajlo Mitrovic
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1977
Western City Gates
by
B.I. Artiushin & S.V. Savin
St. Petersburg, Russia
1968
Russian State Scientific Center
by
Jorn Utzon
Sydney, Australia
1973
Sydney Opera
by
Bertrand Goldberg
Chicago, IL.
1968
Marina Towers
by
YUGOSLAVIA, VARIOUS SITES
1960s - 1970s
Spomenik Memorials
Brutalism
begins with
its name. And no, the name doesn’t come from its unapproachable appearance or its Cold War-era origins. It comes from the use of poured raw concrete—or béton brut, as it was pronounced
by early practitioner Le Corbusier. He developed
the style for use in one of Brutalism’s first—and
still most famous—examples, Unité d’Habitation
in Marseilles. This 18-story mixed-use building, comprising housing and commercial use, was described by the architect as “the first manifestation of an environment suited to modern life. Made for men, it is made to the human scale…. and it shows the new splendour of bare concrete.”
Brutalism arose after World
War II, when many designers embraced a new era of socialist utopia. As poured concrete
also tended to be cheaper than most other construction
options, the movement took
off inrebuilding war-ravaged Eastern Europe, which explains its strong connection to
the rise of the Soviet Union
Color
Drab
Shape
Boxy
Material
Concrete
Brutalism is a style recognizable for it
s colorlessness as well as its shape—plain, raw, and beige. All that separates a
Brutalist building from the sidewalks around it are a lack of handprints and initials.
It favors straight lines and geometric
forms, as well as repetition and symmetry. You’ll find some very famous exceptions
to this rule below.
CLick Architects
Know
Nine Buildings
Razing
Yes, click to learn what to look for:
WILL I KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT?
Story by Design by
Rule Breaker
Rule Breaker
Rule Breaker
Architect Nametk
Smithson
as architecture students at England’s Durham University and were married in 1949.
From there, Alison and Peter Smithson formed an architectural partnership that would last their entire lives. They took Le Corbusier’s work on public housing to its logical next step with an approach they called “streets in the sky,” most evident in their Robin Hood Gardens housing complex. This was
an attempt to separate pedestrians from automobile traffic via a series of raised walkways and paths. They were outspoken proponents of Brutalism
in their writing and as teachers, with Anne pointing out that Brutalism is “an ethic, not an aesthetic.”
they met
Close
Peter
&
Alison
Devotees
Close
Rudolph
Paul
on this list, Rudolph studied at Harvard with Bauhaus master Walter Gropius. He then
rose to prominence at what became known as the Sarasota School, taking on commissions in Florida and working in a style that favored glass and open floor plans. From there, his style veered towards Brutalism, and he would go on to carry out some of the most ambitious commissions in America: the Government Service Center in Boston, the Shoreline Apartments in Buffalo, and the Orange County Government Center in upstate New York. Like the Smithsons (more on them later), he used his academic position—head of the Yale Architecture School—to promote and defend Brutalism.
Like Many
Devotee
Close
Pei
I.M.
of Gropius at Harvard,
Pei is best remembered for his glass works,
such as the pyramid at the Louvre in Paris or the
Javits Center in New York. But he can claim such Brutalist masterpieces as Dallas City Hall and
the Herbert F. Johnson Art Museum in Ithaca, NY.
Another student
DabBler
Close
Breuer
Marcel
another Bauhaus architect who worked in Brutalism—notably, in the old Whitney Museum building in New York and the Armstrong Rubber Building (later Pirelli Tire Building) in New Haven. If you’ve driven I-95 between Boston and New York, you’ve seen this building next to the Ikea, and thought, “What
is that?” Well, for the last couple decades, it’s been an abandoned architectural masterwork. Now, it’s being renovated for use as a hotel.
Breuer is
Dabbler
For The Most
The Exceptions
part, Brutalist buildings feature poured concrete in square, boxy forms. But there are exceptions, and they happen to be some of the most famous buildings of the 20th Century.
The first few of these are the Marina Towers in Chicago—you know, those matching circular towers on the cover of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. In 1962,
at the time of their completion, they were the tallest residential structures (and tallest reinforced concrete structures) in the world. Though you may not think of them as Brutalist because of their round shape and lack of right angles, Brutalism claims the towers as its own.
For another unlikely example, we look to the land down under. Yes, despite its organic shape and white ceramic finish, the Sydney Opera House is an example
of Brutalism. However, Sydney never embraced that categorization of its most famous building.
as the first Baby Boomers were going to college, most universities needed to expand to make room for them. Fortunately, there was
a hot new movement attracting famous architects, and it was affordable to boot. That’s why it seems every college campus has some Brutalist research pavilion or student center. The cost was attractive
to universities, and the commissions
were attractive to architects. Rudolph
and Pei built buildings on campuses, and
Le Corbusier’s only building in America
is Harvard’s Carpenter Center for the
Visual Arts.
Besides these big-name projects, there are some prime examples of the style on campuses from coast to coast. The Geisel Library at UC San Diego sits at the center of campus, and it looks like something from the imagination of a fantasy author.
And yes, it’s named for a certain Doctor. Dr. Suess, you silly goose!
In the midwest, Indiana boasts an interesting collection of Brutalist buildings. Though his coaching style was often described as “brutal” to players, media, and opponents alike, Bob Knight led the Indiana Hoosiers to three national championships while playing their
home games in Assembly Hall, a Brutalist
arena. And its design gave the home
team an advantage—it’s incredibly loud, and the steep pitch of the seating makes it feel like the home fans are on top of
the opponents.
About 60 miles north of Bloomington, Butler University’s Clowes Memorial Hall,
a performing arts center on campus,
was designed by hometown architect Evans Woolen III. The building stands
in the center of this midwestern campus, surrounded by neo-gothic architecture and fraternity buildings, a prime example of futuristic mid-century design. There’s also the library at Northwestern, a complex on Iowa State’s campus, and a huge part of the campus at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Brutalism arrived on campus in the ’50s, and in many places,
it never left.
in the mid-60s,
Ok, Boomer: Brutalism Goes To College
forces that made Brutalism attractive to universities made it irresistible to cities in the mid-20th century. In that era of affluence, government expansion, and spending, there was a drive to build new government buildings that captured this spirit of the future.
While the D.C. buildings were folded
in with some of the city’s existing architecture, Dallas and Boston rebuilt their entire government centers in this style. Similarly, Buffalo added the city court building to its collection of Brutalist commissions.
Internationally, the style was used extensively throughout the Eastern Bloc: Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, and Serbia
all have major Brutalist buildings—those sooty, gray, imposing-looking buildings that you’ve come to associate with Brutalism and Communism.
But, the Smithsons would be proud to note, there is also an incredible array of Brutalist buildings throughout the UK.
It wasn’t just Eastern Europe that was
in need of a post-War rebuild. The Trellick Tower, the Barbican Center, the Balfron Tower, and the Hayward Gallery all left their Brutalist marks on the UK. But,
much like in America, those buildings
are now facing an uncertain future.
Those Same
City Life
have been cheap
to build, but it has become expensive to maintain. Repairs within these hulking structures of raw concrete are as costly as the original construction was cheap. And making repairs within huge slabs of concrete is more difficult than cutting into drywall and studs.
When these works first began going
up, people mistook concrete for
an indestructible material. And since concrete decays from the inside out,
as the rebar used to support it rusts and ruins, it can’t be seen until it is often
too late.
Now, all these buildings seem to be falling into disrepair at the same time. Add to this the fact that a lot of these buildings have suffered from neglect
in the time since they were built,
and the Brutalism bill has come due all
at once. And Brutalism critics are legion, and often powerful.
Well, some are more powerful than others. Ian Fleming was a noted critic.
He named one of the most iconic
Bond villains, Goldfinger, after Brutalist architect Erno Goldfinger. It’s not a mistake that this architecture is often
said to look like somewhere a Bond
villain would live. Ian Fleming wrote
that into history.
His countryman Prince Charles took
up the fight from Fleming, referring
to London’s Royal National Theatre as a “nuclear power station.” He also referred to one Brutalist proposal as a massive carbuncle in a line that would have an effect on British architecture for a generation to come. And he even cracked jokes about Brutalism, like this one in 1987: “You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe. When it knocked down our buildings, it didn't replace them with
anything more offensive than rubble."
Yes, it’s a certain sort of reactionary Baby Boomer that has targeted Brutalism. President Trump has recently trained his sights on the FBI Building in Washington for destruction. "Honestly,” he said,
“I think it's one of the ugliest buildings
in the city… The building is terrible ...
It's one of the Brutalist-type buildings, you know, Brutalist architecture."
Trump even drafted an executive order dictating that all new government buildings be built in the "classical architectural style." He specifically called out Brutalism: "Architectural designs in the Brutalist and Deconstructivist styles, and the styles derived from them, fail
to satisfy these requirements and shall not be used."
But not everyone is falling in line.
In the last couple decades, more and more younger designers, architects,
and students have come to embrace
this notoriously cold style. There are
hashtags like #FuckYeahBrutalism and #SOSBrutalism, which collects photos of Brutalist buildings and then catalogs them by how close they are to demolition.
And as podcaster Roman Mars of 99% Invisible pointed out, one of the ways the Instagram generation has sought to save Brutalist buildings is by photographing them—because they photograph incredibly well. As it turns out, there
is considerable beauty to how light and shadows play over concrete.
So the next time you see a poured concrete building, and think to yourself, “that looks ugly…” or “that’s intimidating!” or “that looks like something fit for a
Bond Villain,” just know that you’ve just seen Brutalism! Enjoy the site, take a picture, post it on Instagram, and make sure you discuss it with an architect
or student you know.
Brutalism may
Brutalism Under Siege
Marina Towers
Marina Towers
Geisel Library
Trellick Tower
J. Edgar Hoover Building, FBI HQ
The Exceptions
City Life
Brutalism under Siege
Ok, Boomer: Brutalism Goes To College
The Exceptions
City Life
Brutalism under Siege
Ok, Boomer: Brutalism Goes To College
Click the topics to learn more.
Want more?
Gareth Hughes Jeffrey Kurtz
Crosley Tower
it seems, more and more Brutalism goes away. The Shoreline Apartments in Buffalo finally came down in 2020. It was delayed for three years when a resident, John Schmidt, refused to move out of the complex. But finally, with the apartments falling into greater and greater disrepair, Schmidt left, and the final phase of destruction began that January.
Perhaps worse, another Rudolph design, the Orange County Government Center, wasn’t demolished—it was renovated so heavily that it’s brought up ethical concerns amongst architects. Granted, it was proving to be fairly complex to fix, having sustained significant damage in 2011’s Hurricane Irene. The main problem was leaks in the roof—or should we say roofs. Because of the stacked-box nature of
this building, it had 87 roofs to help spring leaks. As of now, no further demolition
is planned, but to Rudolph’s legacy, the damage is done.
On campus, the University of Cincinnati
is planning to remove its most famous building—the 16-story Crosley Tower. The building looked like it crashed onto campus in 1969 and has been stuck there ever since. Now, due to leaks and corroding concrete, the building is going to come down in 2025.
Brutalist
Brutalist
to
Guide
Complete
A
Story by
Gareth Hughes
Nine Buildings to Know
Nine Buildings to Know
Nine Buildings to Know
by
B.I. Artiushin & S.V. Savin
St. Petersburg, Russia
1968
Russian State Scientific Center
by
Le Corbusier
Marseilles, Frame (1952)
Unite d'Habitation
by
Le Corbusier
Marseilles, Frame (1952)
Unite d'Habitation
by
Le Corbusier
Marseilles, Frame (1952)
Unite d'Habitation
by
Le Corbusier
Marseilles, Frame (1952)
Unite d'Habitation
by
Le Corbusier
Marseilles, Frame (1952)
Unite d'Habitation
by
Le Corbusier
Marseilles, Frame (1952)
Unite d'Habitation
by
Le Corbusier
Marseilles, Frame (1952)
Unite d'Habitation
by
Jorn Utzon
Sydney, Australia (1973)
Sydney Opera
Rule Breaker
Rule Breaker
Rule Breaker
Smithson
Alison
as architecture students at England’s Durham University and were married in 1949. From there, Alison and Peter Smithson formed an architectural partnership that would last their entire lives. They took Le Corbusier’s work on public housing to its logical next step with an approach they called “streets in the sky,” most evident in their Robin Hood Gardens housing complex. This was an attempt to separate pedestrians from automobile traffic via a series of raised walkways and paths. They were outspoken proponents of Brutalism in their writing and as teachers, with Anne pointing out that Brutalism is “an ethic, not an aesthetic.”
they met
Devotees
Rudolph
Paul
on this list, Rudolph studied at Harvard with Bauhaus master Walter Gropius. He then rose to prominence at what became known as the Sarasota School, taking on commissions in Florida and working in a style that favored glass and open floor plans. From there, his style veered towards Brutalism, and he would go on to carry out some of the most ambitious commissions in America: the Government Service Center in Boston, the Shoreline Apartments in Buffalo, and the Orange County Government Center in upstate New York. Like the Smithsons (more on them later), he used his academic position—head of the Yale Architecture School—to promote and defend Brutalism.
Like Many
Devotee
Rudolph
Paul
on this list, Rudolph studied at Harvard with Bauhaus master Walter Gropius. He then rose to prominence at what became known as the Sarasota School, taking on commissions in Florida and working in a style that favored glass and open floor plans. From there, his style veered towards Brutalism, and he would go on to carry out some of the most ambitious commissions in America: the Government Service Center in Boston, the Shoreline Apartments in Buffalo, and the Orange County Government Center in upstate New York. Like the Smithsons (more on them later), he used his academic position—head of the Yale Architecture School—to promote and defend Brutalism.
Like Many
Devotee
tweet
share
Share
Get more stunning visual stories every week.
béton brut,
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
begins
with its name. And no, the name doesn’t come from its unapproachable appearance or its Cold War-era origins. It comes from the use of poured raw concrete—or béton
brut, as it was pronounced by early practitioner Le Corbusier. He developed the style for use in one
of Brutalism’s first—and still most famous—examples, Unité d’Habitation in Marseilles. This 18-story mixed-use building, comprising housing and commercial use, was described by
the architect as “the first manifestation of an environment suited to modern life. Made for men, it is made to the human scale…. and it shows the new splendour of bare concrete.”
99%
Invisible