We have established an ongoing personal project, involving artists, residents, other creatives.
A study of aspects of this unique environment.
Brutalist Architechture Brutalist Achitecture flourished from 1951 to 1975, having descended from the modernist architectural movement of the early 20th century.[1] The term originates from the French word for “raw”, as Le Corbusier described his choice of material béton brut, meaning raw concrete in French.[2][3] Architects Alison and Peter Smithson are believed to have coined the term “Brutalism” in the 1950s and it became more widely used after British architectural critic Reyner Banham titled his 1966 book, The New Brutalism, using the term “Brutalism” to identify the style.[4] Brutalism became popular with governmental and institutional clients, with numerous examples in English-speaking countries (the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia), Western Europe (France, Germany, Italy), the Soviet Union, the Eastern Bloc (Slovakia, Bulgaria), and places as disparate as Japan, India, Brazil, the Philippines, and Israel. Examples are typically massive in character (even when not large), fortress-like, with a predominance of exposed concrete construction, or in the case of the “brick Brutalists”, ruggedly combine detailed brickwork and concrete. There is often an emphasis on graphically expressing in the external elevations and in the whole-site architectural plan the main functions and people-flows of the buildings. Brutalism became popular for educational buildings (especially university buildings), but was relatively rare for corporate projects, which largely preferred International Style. Brutalism became favoured for many government projects, tower blocks (high-rise housing), and shopping centres. In its ruggedness and lack of concern to look comfortable or easy, Brutalism can be seen as a reaction by a younger generation to the lightness, optimism, and frivolity of some 1930s and 1940s architecture. In one critical appraisal by Banham, Brutalism was posited not as a style, but as the expression of an atmosphere among architects of moral seriousness. “Brutalism” as a term was not always consistently used by critics; architects usually avoided using it altogether. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
