10 Icons of Brutalist Architecture,

from the Breuer to the Barbican

ARTSY EDITORIAL
BY RACHEL LEBOWITZ
AUG 5TH, 2016 8:00 PM

With bton brut (raw concrete) as its namesake and

primary material, Brutalism initially surfaced in the middle of
the 20th century, in part as a quick, economical solution to
the urban destruction wrought by World War II. At first
centered in England, the style spread across the world in the
following decades, proposing a radical new form of
Modernism, steeped in socialist ideas, that embraced hard
lines and a utilitarian lack of ornamentation. Long reviled but
recently revived, Brutalism is nothing if not striking, with its
heavy, imposing buildings that privilege function over form.
Here are 10 of the worlds most iconic examples of the style.

Unit dHabitation, Marseille

LE CORBUSIER, COMPLETED IN 1952

Photo courtesy of Anapuig via Creative Commons.

The first in Le Corbusiers series of unit buildings was built

as post-WWII working-class housing, but instead it became
home to Marseilles intelligentsia, when its intended residents
balked at the revolutionary design. Then complete with a
shopping center, post office, and room for 1,600 people in
efficiently laid-out apartments, the building acted as a self-
contained city that, according to Le Corbusier, show[ed] the
new splendor of bare concrete. Recently designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, the megalith arguably
represents the birth of Brutalism.

Paul Rudolph Hall, New Haven,

Connecticut
PAUL RUDOLPH, COMPLETED IN 1963


Photo courtesy of Sage Ross via Creative Commons.

Yale Universitys Paul Rudolph Hallformerly called the Yale

Art and Architecture Building and renamed for the
preeminent architect in 2008is considered one of the first
brutalist buildings in the United States. Two of the Halls giant
textured-concrete columns flank its narrow, off-center
entryway, corralling visitors inside. The interior is
unexpectedly open, enhanced by natural light and enabling
views of the Louis Kahn-designed Yale University Art Gallery
across the street. Intended to forge a community among
students, the building manifests Brutalisms social ideals.

Bank of London and South America,

Buenos Aires
CLORINDO TESTA AND SEPRA, COMPLETED IN 1966


Photo courtesy of Dan DeLuca via Creative Commons.

Now owned by Banco Hipotecario Nacional, the building that

once housed Buenos Airess Bank of London and South
America stands both in concert with and contrast to its
neoclassical neighbors. Echoing the surrounding Beaux Arts
buildings, the bank splays out to meet the areas narrow
streets, yet passersby can move among columns at its base,
enjoying the impression of more sidewalk space. Visible at
the buildings front is its primary structurea sleek glass box
encased on either side by a rugged concrete shell. Apertures
in the concrete lend both levity and character, as well as
exterior views from within.

SESC Pompia, So Paulo

LINA BO BARDI , COMPLETED IN 1986


Photos courtesy of Patrick Parrish.

Transformed from an out-of-use factory slated for demolition

into a leisure center, the SESC Pompia in downtown So
Paulo epitomizes Lina Bo Bardis dedication to local heritage
and materials. When the architect began the projectwhat
she called a socialist experimentin the late 1970s, the
building was serving as a kind of unofficial community center,
with the non-governmental Servio Social do Comrcio
(SESC) organization hosting cultural activities and sports
there. Bo Bardi honored the buildings existing use,
expanding the complex with monumental concrete towers
and bridges that also pay homage to its industrial roots.
 The Breuer Building, New York City
MARCEL BREUER , COMPLETED IN 1966

Marcel Breuer
Whitney Museum of American Art, 1966
New York City
The former home of the Whitney Museum of American
Art (which relocated to the Meatpacking District last year),
the hulking, top-heavy Breuer Building on Manhattans Upper
East Side initially met with criticism when it opened in 1966.
Since then, its bold contrast with the areas brownstone-lined
streets has endeared it to the public as an avant-garde
neighborhood fixtureand current Met outpost. Named after
its Bauhaus-educated architect, the buildings unornamented
granite faade and concrete ceilings typify the brutalist
insistence on raw materials and functionality.

The Barbican, London

CHAMBERLIN, POWELL, AND BON, COMPLETED: 1982


Photos courtesy of Patrick Parrish.

The architects of the Barbican created the estates mottled

faades by hammering away at cast concrete, and enlivened
the structures cantilevered balconies with plants. The
massive multi-use complex contains an arts center, cinema,
restaurants, and schools, as well as some 2000 apartments
that began as council housing, intended to make inner-city
living desirable to middle-class professionals. Built on a site
razed by World War II bombings (The Blitz, as it is known in
the U.K.), the estates layout is intentionally bewildering, an
effect created through elements reminiscent of a medieval
fortress as well as private gardens, lakes, and walkways.

Boston City Hall, Boston

GERHARD KALLMANN AND MICHAEL MCKINNNELL, COMPLETED IN 1968


Photo courtesy of Cliff via Creative Commons.

Built as part of a campaign to restore the citys former glory

in the face of economic inertia and white flight, Bostons City
 Hall has been under fire for its harsh aesthetic since it
opened in 1968. The architectural community, however, has
praised it as an icon of Brutalism. The concrete building was
conceived according to a kind of modernized Classicism la
Le Corbusier, with rows of coffered overhangs and various
protruding modules, one of which houses the mayors office.
With windows into the buildings activities and an outdoor
plaza designed to flow seamlessly into the lobby, the building
espouses governmental transparency.

Habitat 67, Montreal

MOSHE SADIE , COMPLETED IN 1967

Moshe Safdie
Habitat '67, World Exposition, 1967
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Habitat 67 began as Safdies McGill University graduate

thesis and evolved into one of Canadas most recognizable
brutalist structures. His first design to ever be realized, the
set of 354 interlocking, prefabricated concrete units,
containing 158 one- to four-bedroom apartments, each with a
roof garden, was originally presented at Montreals 1967
Worlds Fair. Situated along the Saint Lawrence River, the
dramatic complexwith its cubic modules that jut out into
the surrounding spaceproposed the idea of an urban
village, which Safdie considered a more humane and
organic alternative to traditional apartment living.

Trellick Tower, London

ERNIE GOLDFINGER, COMPLETED IN 1972

Photo courtesy of @brutal_architecture via Instagram.

Cities can become centers of civilization where men and

women can live happy lives, Goldfinger once said. Yet by
1972, when the unit-inspiredTrellick Tower was erected as
public housing, it was in the face of growing disillusion about
similar tower block buildings. Now revitalized after years of
dereliction and petty crime that earned it the moniker Tower
of Terror, the 332-foot-high concrete block features two
distinct yet connected buildings, separating elevators and
stairwells from the balconied apartments to maximize living
space.

Brazilian Museum of Sculpture (MuBE),

So Paulo
PAULO MENDES DA ROCHA, COMPLETED IN 1988


Photo courtesy of @gleicefpaiva via Instagram.

Though MuBE took shape in the late 1980s, significantly after

Brutalisms heyday, it is a striking example of the Paulista
School stylethe international movements Brazilian
iteration. As such, Mendes da Rochawho received a Golden
Lion at this years Venice Architecture Biennale and the 2006
Pritzker Prizeembraced the large-scale, bulky forms that
raw concrete naturally facilitates, manifested in the nearly-
200-foot beam atop the museum. Containing offices, an art
school, and open, concrete galleries, the museum itself is
built largely below ground, so as to respect the surrounding
green space.

Rachel Lebowitz
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-icons-of-brutalist-architecture,
accesat: 21.02.2017