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What is Brutalism? -

Brutalism, sometimes called New Brutalism, is an architectural movement and philosophy that emphasizes simple, functional, and socially responsible structures made with materials picked for their quality, as opposed to their aesthetics. Peter Smithson, one of the first driving forces behind the rise of Brutalism, explained that the honesty of the materials should be expressed, such as "the woodness of the wood; the sandiness of sand," and, by that line of thought, the concreteness of the concrete.

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What is Brutalism? -

Today, Brutalism is an admittedly polarizing style of architecture. Its cold, imposing, and almost always monochrome construction is off-putting to many, not to mention its slightly misplaced association with the USSR. At its core, however, Brutalism was just as much an answer to social stresses as it was an aesthetic style. In the post-war environment during which it was born, Brutalism sought to answer the questions of affordable housing, the limitations of urban development, environmental sustainability, and resource scarcity.

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When and where did it originate? -

Brutalism became wildly popular all across the world for decades, but it is generally said to have been first popularized in England during the early 1950s, namely by the dynamic duo of Alison and Peter Smithson, who were the first to use the term "New Brutalism" in a magazine article describing their plans to build a house whose structure was "exposed entirely, without interior finishes wherever practicable."

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Geisel Library, USA -

The Geisel Library at the San Diego campus of the University of California is one of the United States' greatest triumphs of Brutalism. William Pereira finished construction in 1970, and it was instantly recognized worldwide as a shining example of the possibilities of Brutalism.

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Wotruba Church, Austria -

An abstract and impressionistic place of worship, the Wotruba Church was built between 1974 and 1976, based on a model by the acclaimed Austrian sculptor Fritz Wotruba. The building, located in Vienna, is made out of 152 solid concrete blocks.

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HABITAT 67, Canada -

Considered one of the greatest triumphs not only in Brutalism but in architecture as a whole, Moshe Safdie's HABITAT 67 in Montreal started as a college thesis. Before long, the Canadian government approached Safdie wishing to finance the realization of his design. HABITAT 67, a sprawling residential complex consisting of 354 apartment units, was built with affordable housing in mind. Each of the 354 units are identical in size and shape, but are arranged in such a way that the entire complex becomes a work of art. Unfortunately, the buzz around the project made Safdie's dream of beautiful, affordable housing impossible, and it's still highly-prized real estate even today.

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National Theater, England -

England, arguably the birthplace of Brutalism, has no shortage of excellent examples of this bold and unique style. London's National Theater is a sprawling Brutalist complex, and one of the most polarizing structures in architecture. Some consider it a triumph, others insist it's a blemish on the London landscape. King Charles III, back when he was still a prince in 1988, wryly said it was "a clever way of building a nuclear power station in the middle of London without anyone objecting."

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Marina City, USA -

When Chicago's Marina City towers were built in 1963, under the supervision of Bertrand Goldberg, they were the tallest concrete structures in the world. Although they don't share the sharp edges of other Brutalist constructions, their materials and dedication to livability are quintessentially Brutalist. Even the interior doesn't contain a single right angle, with all apartment units surrounding circular hallways that surround a circular elevator system. Because of this, every single unit has their own private balcony.

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The Breuer Building, USA -

Designed by Marcel Breuer and once part of New York's famous Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Breuer Building is now home to a private collection, but the building itself is an incredible piece of Brutalist art. As is the case with many Brutalist structures, it was criticized by many at the time of its construction in 1966 for its stark, imposing stature, but was simultaneously hailed as a masterpiece of architecture.

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Boston City Hall, USA -

Another often criticized example of American Brutalism is Boston City Hall. It's not only the structure itself that was criticized, but the circumstances surrounding its construction as well. In a very anti-Brutalist turn of events, Boston City Hall was built on top of a number of city blocks that included both residences and business that were razed to the ground in the 1960s after being deemed "substandard" by the city.

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Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, USA -

The primary Roman Catholic church in San Francisco, the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, is one of the finest Brutalist churches on the North American West Coast. Built at the end of the 1960s, it was commissioned by the Vatican itself and was designed by local San Franciscan architects in collaboration with some Italian masters.

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SESC Pompéia, Brazil -

São Paulo's SESC Pompéia building, an arts and culture center, was designed by Lina Bo Bardi in 1977. Most of the structure itself already stood as an abandoned factory, but Bo Bardi stripped everything off of the building's interior concrete structure. Afterwards, she added crisscrossing walkways to connect the buildings.

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UTEC, Peru -

Although the golden age of Brutalism was undoubtedly during the 1960s and 1970s, it has seen a bit of a resurgence in the 21st century. A prime example of modern Brutalism is Lima, Peru's UTEC engineering university, constructed in 2016 by the Grafton Architects firm.

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Litchfield Towers, USA -

Serving as the primary student housing for Pittsburgh University, the three Litchfield Towers were built in 1963 on the design of the Deeter and Ritchie architecture firm. In total, the three towers can house 2,000 students and each contain cafeterias on their lower levels that can feed up to 14,000 students.

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Robin Hood Gardens, England -

One of the most significant buildings in the history of architecture, and the masterpiece of Alison and Peter Smithson, London's Robin Hood Gardens was constructed in 1971 and was supposed to accomplish everything that Brutalism stood for. The public housing estate had a total of 203 apartments, and incorporated a "streets in the sky" technique that connected the sections of the building with wide walkways and patios, in an attempt to make the walkways and hallways themselves feel like a neighborhood street would on the ground. Unfortunately, partially due to the reclusive nature of the residents and some flaws in the structure of the "streets in the sky," it never functioned as the residential utopia that the Smithsons had hoped for.

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The Barbican, England -

Built from the ashes of a neighborhood decimated by the bombings of World War II, London's Barbican Estate is today one of the largest and most magnificent examples of the power of Brutalism in the world. Built as a "vertical city" complex, the Barbican includes 2,000 residential units, markets, a cinema, an art museum, and much more, all tied together by interconnected walkways, without a car in sight.

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Apollo Pavilion, England -

Peterlee, a planned city in northern England, was built around one Brutalist structure: the Apollo Pavilion, designed by legendary English abstract artist Victor Pasmore in 1969. Doubling as an art piece and a bridge over a local creek, Pasmore described it as "an architecture and sculpture of purely abstract form through which to walk, in which to linger and on which to play, a free and anonymous monument which, because of its independence, can lift the activity and psychology of an urban housing community on to a universal plane."

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New Street Signal Box, England -

An excellent example of art's intersection with functionality in the form of Brutalism, Birmingham's New Street Signal Box is just that: a giant, beautiful railway signal box. Standing at five stories high and made of prefabricated concrete components, the building was designed by the Bicknell and Hamilton firm in tandem with British Rail.

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Western City Gate, Serbia -

Brutalism is often associated with Eastern Europe. While it's been established that Brutalism was a Western invention, it is true that Eastern Europe adopted the style and, to a greater extent, the philosophy, as did most of the rest of the world. A shining example of Eastern Communist Brutalism is Belgrade's Western City Gate. The building consists of two towers, one with 30 stories of residential units, and the other with 26 stories of business units. The towers are joined by a two-story walkway on the 26th floor, and topped with a high-rise restaurant.

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Baikove Cemetary Crematorium, Ukraine -

Outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, lies the Baikove Cemetery. Within the cemetery is a crematorium center, built in a hauntingly beautiful and irregular Brutalist style. It is said that the Soviet-era crematorium was built with white concrete and incorporated soft curves to instill a sense of calm in those who attended any services in the funeral.

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The Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus, Montenegro -

The only Roman Catholic church in Podgorica, Montenegro, is also one of the only Brutalist structures in the small southeastern European country. It was built in 1967, on the grounds of the town's previous church that was bombed by Allied forces in 1943.

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Johannes XXIII Church, Germany -

One of the most strikingly beautiful and abstract pieces of Brutalist architecture in continental Europe, the Johannes XXIII Church in Cologne, Germany, features a fascinating array of hollowed squares and intersecting right angles. Built in 1968 by Heinz Buchmann, it is one of a handful of Brutalist churches in Cologne, a city that warmly embraced the architectural movement.

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The Stone Flower, Croatia -

The philosophies and styles of Brutalism also found their way into the world of non-functional sculpture. One of the reasons Brutalism is so closely associated with Eastern Europe is the myriad of war monument masterpieces erected across the states of former Yugoslavia by Serbian architect and sculptor Bogdan Bogdanović. Perhaps the most famous is the Stone Flower, in Croatia. This monument was built in 1966 as a reminder of the atrocities committed by the Croatian fascists during World War II against the ethnic Serbs of Yugoslavia, particularly at the Jasenovac concentration camp. The sculpture is located in the same village as the concentration camp.

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Miner's Monument, Kosovo -

Another of Bogdanović's sculptures rests on top of Miner's Hill in Mitrovica, Kosovo. The half-cylinder on top of the sculpture's two concrete pillars is a monument to the local miners of the area, most of whom went off to fight against the Nazis during the war.

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Preston Bus Station, England -

Designed and built in 1969, Lancashire's Preston Bus Station is another shining example of the functionality of Brutalism. The genius here lies in the multi-storied parking garages. Not only do their curved tips protect the bumpers of the cars, their tapered layering also provides ample protection from the elements to the bus passengers waiting below.

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Monument to the Uprising of the People of Kordun and Banija, Croatia -

Another anti-war monument built in former-Yugoslavian Croatia, the Monument to the Uprising of the People of Kordun and Banija was constructed in 1981 by Vojin Bakić. When it was first built high up in the mountains of Croatia, the entire sculpture was covered in stainless steel plates that brilliantly reflected its surroundings, but over the years the steel plates have been stolen one by one.

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Monument to the Revolutionary Victory of the People of Slavonia, Croatia -

One of the most famous Brutalist monuments in the world, also designed by Vojin Bakić, is the Monument to the Revolutionary Victory of the People of Slavonia, in the Croatian town of Kamenska. Today, the town is uninhabited and the great monument stands in stoic solitude.

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Monument to the Fallen Soldiers of the Kosmaj Partisan Detachment, Serbia -

This massive, anti-fascist monument in Serbia stands a towering 131 feet (40 m) high, and was jointly designed and constructed by sculptor Vojin Stojic and architect Gradimir Medakovic during the 1970s.

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Tanghalang Pambansa, Philippines -

One of surprisingly many gorgeous Brutalist landmarks in the Philippine capital of Manila, the Tanghalang Pambansa performing arts theater was constructed in 1969, following the design of acclaimed architect Leandro Locsin.

Sources: (Monograph) (Atlas Obscura) (BoarsArt)

See also: Organic architecture–Closing the gap between man and nature

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