Brutalist Architecture vs Web Brutalism

ブルータリズム建築 / ウェブ・ブルータリズム

Brutalist Architecture comes from Modern Architecture and Web Brutalism from UI Expression. Both are read here as style. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.

Brutalist Architecture

A postwar ethic of public building that leaves béton brut exposed and hides neither structure nor services. Bound up with the ideals of the welfare state, it is now the subject of preservation campaigns.

Web Brutalism

Puts the browser's default rendering straight on screen and refuses the finished look of templates. The bare structure of the HTML becomes the style itself.

Brutalist ArchitectureWeb Brutalism
Era1950s–1970s2014–
FamilyModern ArchitectureUI Expression
KindStyleStyle
CuesRaw exposed concrete / Massive volumes / Exposed structure / Repeating unitsDefault headings and links / Blue underlined links / Extreme jumps in size / Rules and white space without ornament
Best used forGiving a lasting face to public buildings such as universities and libraries · Making a building whose services and structure explain how it worksGallery and label announcements that choose speed of information over polish · Putting deliberate distance between you and template-built competitors
TypeCast or incise signage into the same surface as the concreteKeep the default face and push only the headings to full page width
CompositionDivide large masses into repeated units and expose circulation outsideDrop the columns, stack in one vertical run, divide with rules and space
MaterialLeave board marks, tie holes and joints as the finishWhite or one flat ground, images left compressed and placed at actual size
CautionApplying a rough grey surface without designing drips and water paths leaves black streaks within a few years and the building simply reads as damaged.Tidying only the margins and line lengths while posing as the browser default makes the plainness read as staging, and readers quit while still hunting for a reason behind the mess.

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