
The Case for Calling Brutalism 'Heroic' Instead (2015) - joe5150
http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/11/boston-brutalism-heroic-concrete-architecture/415512/
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onemorebrowser
It's surprising that the authors put so much time into researching the
architectural heritage of the word heroic, but appeared to not do the same for
brutalism. There's no mention of the word 'brut' \- a reference to the raw,
unfinished appearance used in early works identified by critics as forming a
movement. Semantically it has nothing to do with the word brutal (meaning
savage, etc.) , but it's a convenient leap for those imposing what they see an
the ideology behind it.

In reality it's a very broad movement spanning decades, continents and
covering a massive variety of design intentions.

Writing off all of it is as closed minded as writing off all of impressionism,
etc. There are fantastic achievements and also-rans in any group.

I personally have a fondness for many of them, as I find the majority of
modern civic architecture is forgettable and unambitious, and glass and steel
do not automatically trump concrete and brick. But I would never claim to love
it all.

There is a fantastic resource at www.sosbrutalism.org which contextualises
classic examples in time and location is worth a few minutes of your time.

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dajohnson89
DC resident chiming in here. DC is full of brutalist government buildings, and
sorry but they're all eyesores.

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wahern
I, too, typically despise most brutalist architecture. But the D.C. Metro is
brutalist, and I think it was done exceedingly well. It's one of the greatest
pieces of architecture I've personally experienced. And by experience, I mean
both the individual stations as well as the stations collectively.

Sadly, subsequent modifications fell far short of the original vision, which I
couldn't even begin to put into words myself.

For example, installation of waiting time displays broke up the cavernous open
space.

I almost cried when I first saw (after returning to D.C.) how some of the
stations had red lights along the platform instead of the original off-white.
The lack of color is part and parcel of the brutalist design; adding color
gives the same effect as graffiti.

The steel and glass coverings over the escalators, while nice in themselves,
don't echo the brutalist style, either, though admittedly I have no idea how
that could have been accomplished. I'd give the designers an A for effort.

The newer extensions don't echo the design faithfully, which really detracts
from the overall feel. What made the original design work so well was the
repetition--both within each station, and across stations.. If you're not
going echo it faithfully, then don't even try. It's like expanding the scene
in an existing painting by using crayon and crude shapes. Better to switch to
another design altogether so that it's clear you've left one artistic
environment and entered another.

I think the D.C. Metro is both amazing in its own right, and an example of how
brutalism can be used to great effect. The Metro is imposing, yes, but not
confrontational; both efficient and inspiring. It's probably not a coincidence
that by dint of the architecture being almost entirely underground, both the
functional and esthetic elements work in harmony. Most brutalist architecture
has horribly poorly functional interiors which were sacrificed for the benefit
of the exterior "statement", which makes it suck for everybody inside and
outside.

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dajohnson89
Maybe I would appreciate the DC Metro architecture more if it weren't marred
by how miserable the experience of using the metro for commuting actually is.

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jacobolus
Boston’s Government Center is terrible not because of the building styling per
se but because it’s a giant concrete plaza with no activity & no structure &
no people, and all the buildings are built at massive inhuman scale with
nothing happening on the ground floor & absolutely no accommodation to foot
traffic. The square overall could be improved by filling the square with
pretty much anything: trees, market stalls, food trucks, fountains, children’s
playground, whatever.

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jschwartzi
It would be quite beautiful if they would replace most of the plaza with a
park. I notice that a lot of concrete architecture looks best when it's
standing next to a green space, or is surrounded by trees. The Government
Center with its deserted plaza of concrete carries more of a sense of
imposition to me. I may be a little biased though because of how similar the
plaza is to the kind of parking lot that you see in front of a Wal-Mart.

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joe5150
There was an article recently in Jacobin that complements this well.

[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/06/zaha-hadid-
architecture-g...](https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/06/zaha-hadid-architecture-
gentrification-design-housing-gehry-urbanism/)

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Animats
"Heroic" architecture would be Albert Speer's plan for Berlin.[1] Speer's
architecture was designed to make people feel small and insignificant. He
liked very tall, narrow design elements. Unlike brutalism, Speer's work had
good finishes and decorative details.

[1] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2764430/Hitler-s-
gra...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2764430/Hitler-s-grand-
designs-giant-Nazi-city-revealed-Berlin-exhibition.html)

~~~
goldenkey
Looks like it was also brutalist in the use of slave laborers...

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benbenolson
These are the sorts of buildings that I don't think anybody likes looking at.
Take, for example, a building on my University's campus:

[http://media.jrn.com/images/940333_4397240_ver1.0_640_480.jp...](http://media.jrn.com/images/940333_4397240_ver1.0_640_480.jpg)

The man who built it was Bruce McCarty, not sure what he was thinking when he
designed this.

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steanne
ugh. changing the name will not make them better-looking.

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gohrt
Atlantic/CityLab followed an earlier article by 99pi:

[http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/hard-to-love-a-
brute/](http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/hard-to-love-a-brute/)

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astrange
> As with any art form—whether opera or painting or literature—the more you
> know about it the more you appreciate it. This is especially true of
> concrete buildings.

I think this is called the Courtier's Reply? Just because you spent your life
studying literature or sticking people in giant unpainted fascist architecture
doesn't make it a good thing.

~~~
wahern
Indeed. I can appreciate the artistic vision and merit in something and still
dislike it.

For example, on many occasions I've eaten dishes at restaurants that were
clearly put together with incredible vision and experience. And yet it would
not be something I'd ever order again. Which isn't to say I'm picky. I've
repeatedly eaten dishes knowing that, with time, you can learn to enjoy
something. I used to hate sushi in particular, and the characteristic flavors
of Japanese cooking in general. It took me years of persistence to enjoy
various Japanese dishes, but I've come a long way. But that doesn't always pan
out. I've eaten balut many times, but at this point I think I'm just gonna
throw in the towel. It's too livery, and while I enjoy foie gras and other
heavily herbed liver pates, I don't think I'll ever enjoy balut. (The balut
broth is amazing, though.)

I like to think that I _get_ brutalist architecture. It's generally meant to
be imposing in general. But also a style that, because of the unique
characteristics of concrete, permit the architect to experiment with different
shapes, configurations, and patterns (or, conversely, utilize fewer patterns).

But it's too challenging. That's not the kind of environment you want to be
forced to deal with. By being imposing, it can't be ignored. It's like being
surrounded by bears in the forest--it's not the kind of imposition you
normally appreciate, certainly not on a regular basis. The designs might be
flexible in terms of construction, but it's entirely inflexible in the way it
evolves with the surrounding environment. That's one thing architects don't
pay enough service to, IMO--continuity with the past _and_ future, both wrt to
form and function.

~~~
steanne
[http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3545](http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3545)

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carsongross
Brutalism: where architects who live in renovated traditionalist lofts ruin a
city for fear of looking old fashioned.

