Am I right in thinking there's more to Brutalism than unornamented concrete? Like, Brutalist buildings look imposing and probably lack human scale, right? Commentary that didn't originate on the wikipedia site would be nice . . . posted by andromache at 6:39 AM on August 28, 2008
I'm no expert, but looking at some Louis Kahn buildings will certainly get you started. I've been to the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, and it is a masterpiece. posted by rachelpapers at 6:40 AM on August 28, 2008
Commentary that didn't originate on the wikipedia site would be nice . . .
Incidentally, that's not a dig at you, spoons, I just haven't read much on Brutalism and I'm curious for good sources other than our trusted user-generated encyclopedia. posted by andromache at 6:41 AM on August 28, 2008
I looked at the wiki, but it's kind of disorganized. I'm looking for buildings that are generally recognized as masterpieces.
Much of the architecture on Roosevelt Island, NY is said to be in the Brutalist style. I can't give you specific buildings, but maybe some searching will reveal some gems. (The movie Dark Water was filmed there, by the way. It's worth watching just for the views of the island and the buildings.) posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 6:56 AM on August 28, 2008
Damn... There's an apartment complex in Montreal that's visible from the bateau-mouche, and it nails this style right on the head. I wish I could remember what it's called. posted by Citrus at 6:57 AM on August 28, 2008
St Peter's Seminary in Kinross, Scotland, though some would argue it's modernist. Also the Alton Estate in Roehampton, London, which was designed after Corbusier and is now listed.
Very famous examples in the UK are Portsmouth's Tricorn Centre and the Trellick Tower in Notting Hill. posted by mippy at 7:10 AM on August 28, 2008
There's an apartment complex in Montreal that's visible from the bateau-mouche, and it nails this style right on the head. I wish I could remember what it's called.
Is it Habitat, by Moshe Safdie? A stack of a bunch of concrete shoeboxes?
A lot of university buildings, especially those built in the 60s, are great examples of Brutalism, which itself is kind of the International Style gone gonzo. Bill Pereira was a big name with that kind of stuff, especially within the UC system.
The Brutalism wikipedia page mentions Tadao Ando as a figure, but I'm not so sure I'd classify his stuff as such, even though he uses concrete extensively. However, he's probably coming out of the Metabolist style in Japan, which does share some features with Brutalism. If you just like a bunch of concrete though, he's totally your dude.
From a purely aesthetic, rather than theoretical, point of view, try the Barbican Estate in London. For the latter, the work of the Smithsons usually suffices.
Corb's Maison Jaoul is often considered the prototype Brutalist building, but stylistically it's a world apart from the concrete monumentality you're presumably looking for. By that definition, Arthur Erickson's Lethbridge University qualifies, along with big urban schemes like the Brunswick Centre. posted by jonathanbell at 7:36 AM on August 28, 2008
Possibly my old undergrad college would apply.... the campus of Northern Kentucky University is nothing but concrete....has a wonderful Orwellian feel to it. (I absolutely loved the look) posted by MeetCleaverTheatre at 7:42 AM on August 28, 2008
My introduction to (neo)Brutalism was WursterHall in Berkeley, which was notable for being (a) the ugliest building on campus, (b) the most geologically unsound building on campus, and (c) the home of the COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN, for God's sake.
It's not uncommon at this time of year to see groups of incoming freshman squinting at it in disbelief after being told that it was intended to resemble a dragon somehow. posted by kittyprecious at 8:13 AM on August 28, 2008
The math and computer science building at the University of Waterloo in southwestern Ontario, Canada, is locally well-known. I don't know how famous it is among architects though. posted by PercussivePaul at 8:40 AM on August 28, 2008
Several of the buildings at UMass-Amherst are in this style. Also, the student center at MIT. However, I would not call any of those masterpieces or "quintessential", nor are many of the buildings cited in the answers above paragons of the style. In fact, the entire style has always been controversial, because aesthetics aside, it frequently ignores human scale and utility to occupants in favor of mass, drama and size. In Boston there's serious thought being given to demolishing City Hall and redeveloping the entire area around it. The only problem is that it would take something like a nuclear weapon to bring it down. posted by beagle at 8:59 AM on August 28, 2008
Regarding Wurster Hall at UC Berkeley - I work there.
A) Wurster is hardly the ugliest building on campus (for starters, please look at Kroeber hall across the way), but regardless of popular opinion, it was never intended to be a "pretty building"- it was intended to be a working building, a design laboratory, which it very much is - and a great success at that.
B) Furthermore, it underwent a major seismic refit in the past ten years, and is one of the safest buildings on campus.
C) Yes, it is the home of the College of Environmental Design. It was designed by a team of architects that taught in the College of Environmental Design, and the seismic refit was led by one of the faculty earthquake experts. Most people at CED love Wurster Hall. I guess that's all that matters. The public usually doesn't bother to look beyond the skin.
Back to the original question, my favorite brutalist building is Rudolph's Orange County Government Building in Goshen, NY. It's a classic. posted by gyusan at 8:59 AM on August 28, 2008
Thank you for the link Carbide - I find it amusing that the housing estate I used to walk past to get to the doctor's, the Toast Rack (Hollins Campus) I passed on the bus to university and the shopping centre near work are all on lovely china. posted by mippy at 9:02 AM on August 28, 2008
In the UK everything by Basil Spence is a brutalist classic, including the much derided Hyde Park Barracks, and Coventry Cathedral. His wikipedia page has a comprehensive list of his work. posted by roofus at 9:45 AM on August 28, 2008
roofus, I don't think of Coventry Cathedral as brutalist at all - I don't know much about architectural theory but when I think of brutalism I think of Birmingham Library or the Brunswick Centre (mentioned above).
I think Coventry Cathedral makes too many concessions to its surroundings (it blends beautifully with the old bombed-out cathedral next door) to be truly Brutalist, though if architects describe it as such, who am I to argue?
I always felt pretty brutalized by the original buildings at the University of TX at San Antonio. They always made me think of the fortified U-boat pens the Nazis built in France. The parts of the campus built since the 90's is much better.
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza in Albany.
Brutalism is hideous and soul crushing. I always assumed that it was dictated by budget constraints. posted by Daddy-O at 10:14 AM on August 28, 2008
I lived in this bastard thing for two years of my undergrad. It's half a kilometre of riotproofed concrete goodness, and there's a persistent (if untrue) rumour that the architect used modified prison blueprints. Guelph has a few other brutalist charmers kicking around, too; look for the MacKinnon building, McLaughlin library, and University Centre on that site.
And oh Lord, seconding Robarts. My department is in there this year, and I lose a little bit of soul every time I approach that beast. posted by Schlimmbesserung at 10:22 AM on August 28, 2008
and there's a persistent (if untrue) rumour that the architect used modified prison blueprints.
While possibly not false in this instance, there's a rumor like that about a building on every college campus in North America. It's one of the more common urban legends. posted by LionIndex at 11:01 AM on August 28, 2008
altolinguistic:
I saw that post, however, what I'm looking for is a more definite list of the buildings considered by critics to be the "best" example of the brutalist style. posted by tylerfulltilt at 11:12 AM on August 28, 2008
a more definite list of the buildings considered by critics to be the "best" example of the brutalist style.
Heh, a Google search on "best.brutalist.building" yields exactly 27 results, but there are exactually only 11 results once dupes are eliminated.
Adding an "s" yields even fewer results (5), including this list of "best brutalist buildings" -- I'm not sure how it was compiled. It includes some already mentioned above.
Here's a serious blog post defending brutalism -- it includes the interesting fact that the name "brutalism" comes from French "brut" from "béton brut" (raw concrete), not from "brutal". So part of its problem is the unfortunate name. posted by beagle at 1:25 PM on August 28, 2008
Ando and Kahn are not considered Brutalists by legit architectural historians. As mentioned above, the term comes from Banham and he opens his book The New Brutalism with a discussion of the Hunstanton School by the Smithsons. In addition to citing the expansive use of beton brut (though not at Hunstanton), Banham discusses the rawness of detailing in New Brutalist buildings: in other words, they are assembled with no frills (fitting for schools and housing and the like). posted by bryanboyer at 1:32 PM on August 28, 2008
Regarding the above-mentioned Yale Art + Architecture Building:
Apropos of this thread, it is actually featured in today's New York Times.
Henceforth to be known as Paul Rudolph Hall. posted by Dr. Sam at 2:24 PM on August 28, 2008
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posted by spoons at 6:38 AM on August 28, 2008