Brutalist Architecture

ブルータリズム建築 / 1950s–1970s / Style / Modern 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.

Brutalist Architecture — Barbican Estate (CC BY-SA 4.0) · © Colin — Barbican Estate (CC BY-SA 4.0) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Colin

Brutalist Architecture — Unité d'Habitation in Berlin (CC BY-SA 3.0) · © David Pachali — Unité d'Habitation in Berlin (CC BY-SA 3.0) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · © David Pachali

Brutalist Architecture — Boston City Hall — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 — Boston City Hall — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 · CC0

At a glance

Visual cues

Raw exposed concrete
Massive volumes
Exposed structure
Repeating units

Best used for

Giving a lasting face to public buildings such as universities and libraries
Making a building whose services and structure explain how it works

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Dictionary entry

Type: Cast or incise signage into the same surface as the concrete
Composition: Divide large masses into repeated units and expose circulation outside
Material: Leave board marks, tie holes and joints as the finish
Caution: Applying a rough grey surface without designing drips and water paths leaves black streaks within a few years and the building simply reads as damaged.
Further study: Le Corbusier's béton brut / the Smithsons' New Brutalism / demolition and the preservation movement

Related entries

Web Brutalism (ウェブ・ブルータリズム)Shared effects: Rebellion / Trust.Compare Brutalist Architecture and Web Brutalism
International Style (インターナショナル・スタイル)Same Modern Architecture lineage.Compare Brutalist Architecture and International Style

Often confused with

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Link: https://indexstyle.org/styles/brutalist-architecture
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