“All the majesty of a city landscape / all the soaring days of our lives / all the concrete dreams in my mind’s eye / all the joy I see through these architects’ eyes” David Bowie
Brutalism – an introduction
Brutalism was born of Le
Corbusier’s practice from the late 1940s onwards of using concrete in an
unfinished or roughly-finished state and leaving the board-marked surfaces exposed. The term ‘brutalism’ comes from the French ‘brut’ meaning ‘raw’ or
‘rough’,[i]
and it was adopted by British architects Alison and Peter Smithson[ii]
to refer to a particular style of architecture characterized
by:
- Rough, unfinished surfaces;
- Heavy-looking materials;
- Massive forms;
- Windows of relatively small size. [iii]
- Rough, unfinished surfaces;
- Heavy-looking materials;
- Massive forms;
- Windows of relatively small size. [iii]
Brutalism in public architecture
Le Corbusier’s Brutalist style is
exemplified in his designs for the utopian city of Chandigarh in
post-independence India, for which the brief from India's prime minister Nehru was: "a new town, symbolic of the freedom of India, unfettered by the traditions of the past, a symbol of the nation's faith in the future". Le Corbusier considered his Palace of Assembly (1953) to be his greatest work. The city is now India's wealthiest per capita.[iv]
The Brutalist style was widely
adopted for government buildings and education institutions worldwide due to
the message of strength conveyed by its bold structures and due to the relative
cheapness of concrete and the new possibilities it offered in terms of functionality and scale.
Examples include the Ministry of Justice in London, built by Basil Spence in
1976; the Boston City Hall, built by Gerhard Kallmann in 1963-68; the FBI’s
headquarters in the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington D.C., built by
Charles F. Murphy and Associates and completed in 1967; the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning (FAU) Centre at the University
of São Paulo, built by Vilanova Artigas in 1969; the Museum of Art in Sao
Paulo, built by Lina Bo Bardi in 1968; and the halls of residence at the University of East Anglia, built by
Denys Lasdun and completed in 1966.
Denys Lasdun is also famous for
his Brutalist National Theatre in London (1967-76), where he applied Frank
Lloyd Wright’s stratification at Fallingwater (see previous article) in an urban context along the river. The structure challenges the conventions concerning public buildings: its strata
‘make it hard to define where the National Theatre begins and ends’; its
interconnected walkways, split levels and circular stairwells make it ‘as
confusing to navigate as an Escher painting’; it has no obvious front door.[v]
Lasdun ‘likened the project to planning a small city’ on account of its scale:
the complex includes three theatres, workshops, foyers, restaurants and bars.[vi]
Lasdun spoke of the audience in the foyers as the ‘fourth theatre’, and wanted
‘an interaction of human and architectural drama’.[vii]
In Birmingham, which had been
badly hit during the Second World War, modernism was embraced in its aftermath,
with new housing and public buildings built that contributed to making the city
the most successful in the UK after the capital: a ‘modernist utopia’ with
almost no unemployment and many impressive Brutalist buildings.[viii]
Hull, Coventry and Portsmouth likewise embraced Brutalist architecture.
Brutalism and Domestic spaces
In the aftermath of the Second
World War, many thousands of homes destroyed by bombs needed to be rebuilt across
Europe. The Brutalist style offered the opportunity to create functional homes
in which community life would be facilitated. The style was particularly
prevalent in Britain where the developing welfare state commissioned council
homes from modernist architects: the buildings had a civic agenda and
represented the ‘vision of a society confident in its own expression, a
genuinely public city and an architecture of a generous, open and radical
welfare state.’[ix]
Le Corbusier’s Unités
d’Habitation, built in Marseilles in 1952, is widely regarded as one of the
first Brutalist buildings. It is built on stilts to create a pedestrian open
ground floor,[x]
a manifestation of Le Corbusier’s famous goal: “we must kill the street”.
Le Corbusier had first proposed a
solution for the destruction of houses in times of war with a cheap design for mass-produced
houses in 1914, when he was just 27, in response to the destruction of homes at
the beginning of the First World War. Called ‘Dom-Ino’ houses, these structures
comprised ‘a factory-produced system of precast concrete columns, floor slabs
and staircases on which families could improvise shelter by recycling materials
and components from destroyed houses.’[xi] The model is recognisable as a basis for many modern homes around the world today.
In
Britain, Alison and Peter Smithson are among the most famous architects of
Brutalist social housing, which they described as follows: “Brutalism tries to face up to a mass-production society, and drag a
rough poetry out of the confused and powerful forces which are at work. Up to
now Brutalism has been discussed stylistically, whereas its essence is
ethical.” The estate at London’s Robin Hood Gardens which they completed in
1972 has 213 flats arranged with innovative internal layout, ‘streets in the
sky’ to encourage community living, and deflecting acoustic walls to create a
peaceful atmosphere in spite of the busy roads nearby.[xii]
Another example in London is
Trellick Tower, built by Erno Goldfinger (after whom Ian Fleming named one of
his Bond villains) in 1972 and the tallest residential building in Europe.[xiii]
Backlash against Brutalism
The economic downturn in the
1970s engendered, among other problems, lack of maintenance to Brutalist
buildings, as well as unemployment which caused social unrest.[xiv] Elevated
walkways connecting apartment blocks and also known as ‘streets in the sky’ are
one of the key features of Brutalist housing estates. Designed to enable
neighbours to gather together and to offer a space for children to play without
danger from cars, these walkways are regrettably often dimly-lit and deserted,
creating a hostile atmosphere.[xv] In the 1970s, public opinion turned against these buildings because of their poor state of maintenance and the antisocial behaviour taking place there. Several were destroyed,
including Hereford Square apartments in London’s Kensington and the Southgate
Estate, the Trinity Square car park in Gateshead and the Tricorn Centre in
Portsmouth (both built by Owen Luder), and recently the Milton Court complex at
the Barbican and Birmingham’s Central Library (built by John Madin’s 1973).
The eradication of Brutalist
buildings has been compared to the demolition of Victorian buildings deemed
‘monstrosities’ in the 20th century in favour of more modern
structures: the losses are now mourned, and surviving Victorian buildings are greatly valued. Perhaps it will take as long for Brutalist architecture to be viewed
with so much appreciation. There are steps in that direction: several Brutalist buildings, including Trellick Towers, are Grade-II listed. In the meantime, Robin Hood Gardens estate and other Brutalist buildings face demolition.
And yet the Brunswick Centre
(built by Patrick Hodgkinson in 1972 in London) is an example of a
previously-neglected Brutalist complex that has benefitted hugely from
investment into its maintenance. The main task was to paint the facades pale
cream as the architect had originally intended- a dilution from strictly
Brutalist criteria, perhaps, but one which makes the building more appealing to
a wider range of people and brightens up facades that get little help from sunshine in our northern climes. Not long ago the Brunswick Centre was described as “a
rain-streaked, litter-strewn concrete bunker of empty shop units, whose
ambitious, space-age design only accentuated its sense of failure.” Today it is
a hugely pleasant complex, with desirable flats and inviting public areas.[xvi]
The Barbican Estate is also an example of successful Brutalist architecture: designed in 1959 and opened in 1982, it has remained the epitome of the utopian ideal for inner-city living. It has integrated high-density residential neighbourhoods (more than 2,100 homes) with schools, shops and restaurants, as well as a world-class cultural destination, a church, lakes, a sports centre and ancient monuments. Maintained by a large team and by the proud residents, its flats sell for vast sums.[xvii]
The Barbican Estate is also an example of successful Brutalist architecture: designed in 1959 and opened in 1982, it has remained the epitome of the utopian ideal for inner-city living. It has integrated high-density residential neighbourhoods (more than 2,100 homes) with schools, shops and restaurants, as well as a world-class cultural destination, a church, lakes, a sports centre and ancient monuments. Maintained by a large team and by the proud residents, its flats sell for vast sums.[xvii]
Modernism around the world
Around the world, Brutalism and modernism more generally have seen varying levels of success.
Around the world, Brutalism and modernism more generally have seen varying levels of success.
Habitat 67 in Montreal, built by Moshe Safdie in 1967, is a community
and housing complex in Canada comprising 354 identical concrete units arranged
in various combinations to create 146 residences of varying sizes, each with at
least one private terrace, reaching up to 12 stories in height. It has been
praised for positively redefining urban living though has not offered
affordable housing as initially intended.
Near Paris, the Arcades du Lac and the Viaduc at Montigny-le-Bretonneux
(completed in 1975 and 1980 respectively by Ricardo Bofill) were intended to be
a ‘Versailles for the people’. Their style has strong links with French architectural
history, being inspired by the Pont d’Avignon, the Chateau de Chenonceau and
the Aqueduct of Segovia, yet also present a futuristic vision of megapolis life.
The Arcades has 220 apartments, the Viaduc 74. The former features traditional
French gardens; the latter is built on an artificial lake; both exemplify social and community living for the modern age, with their stunning structures and peaceful
pedestrianised surroundings.[xviii]
The purpose-built capital of Brasilia (Brazil), whose major public
buildings were designed by Oscar Neimeyer in the 1950s, offers an interesting
contrast to the Arcades and the Viaduct in two main respects: firstly in its deliberate rejection of architectural
traditions and secondly in its focus on cars not pedestrians. Niemeyer designed the Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida cathedral (completed in 1970),
whose 16 curved concrete columns weigh 90 tons each; the iconic dome and
bowl flanking two towers at the Palace of the National Congress; the Ministry
of Foreign Relations with its weightless curving steps in the atrium; and many other structures. The project aimed to create a capital ‘without
the colonial legacy, without baroque and classical architecture, without
slums’. In the enthusiasm of the age of motoring, the city was built to be
traversed by car, not on foot. As a result, the city itself has been criticized
for being on a scale that has forgotten its human inhabitants,[xix]
offering little shade from the scorching sun and few outdoor spaces for street
life, and is seen as ‘a wrong turn in urban planning’.[xx] Its
association with a totalitarian regime has not helped its popularity.
In Mozambique and Angola, the
particular style of Brutalism that was developed by the Portuguese is termed ‘Moderno
Tropical’. Mozambique achieved independence from Portugal in 1975, after a
ten-year War of Independence, after which it had a twenty-year civil war. The
modernist buildings still carry the memory of recent oppressors and have
largely been abandoned or become slums, inhabited by the grandchildren of the builders, black
Mozambicans who themselves had not been allowed to build permanent houses for
their families in the suburbs so that the Portuguese could more easily expand
the city if required. The Grande Hotel in
Beira (Mozambique), built in 1948 as a luxury hotel for the Portuguese, was
abandoned in the turmoil of the 1960s and has now become home to many families in spite of the risks presented by empty lift shafts. Glass and metal elements
have been removed for sale and the inhabitants use cracks in the concrete to
grow tomato plants.[xxi]
Even more strikingly, the complex
of five buildings and one forty-five story tower designed by Enrique Gomez in
Caracas (Venezuela) and known as the Torre David, has developed a bustling community –
though one different from that intended: it is the world’s largest vertical
slum. Commissioned at a time of relative economic stability, the project was
abandoned partway through construction following Venezuela’s banking crisis of
1994. Squatters moved in in 2007, and the complex now has about 3,000
residents, who have adapted the unfinished building, adding walls and using
abandoned scaffolding as barriers on some of the open storeys, creating an
‘inventive and evolving fusion of formal and informal architecture’ while
developing a ‘highly organised system of governance, management and servicing,
including the limited provision of electricity and water to most units.’[xxii]
Though completed, the Pruitt-Igoe
complex in Saint Louis (built by Minoru Yamasaki in 1954) offered such negative
living conditions that it was eventually demolished. Its thirty-three
apartments, each standing eleven stories high and totalling 2,870 apartments,
were pulled down in 1972 after becoming ‘one of the most notorious slums in the
US.’ The failure of the complex was largely due to several decreases in the
project budget, which meant that the architect’s plans had to be adapted and
cheap materials used. Social changes in the city meant that the complex was never fully occupied, and only by those in the lowest socio-economic bracket, resulting in high crime rates. The initial plans had been praised for their outdoor
green spaces, spatial efficiency and other innovations. Its demolition
was seen by some as the death of Modernist ideals.[xxiii]
Recently, the architects Mark Pasnik, Michael
Kubo and Chris Grimley have been defending Brutalism and are calling for the style to
be called ‘Heroic’ to reflect its social and civic aspirations and its
optimism, in recognition of the fact that the style's popularity is hampered by its aggressive-sounding name.[xxiv]
In Britain, there has certainly been a revival in admiration for Brutalist
architecture in the past decade or so.
The National Trust recently led tours of Croydon, focusing on structures
such as its NLA Tower, and a tour called ‘Brutal Utopia’ taking members
around Brutalist buildings in London, focusing on the Southbank Centre. The ‘je-m’en-foutisme’ and
‘bloody-mindedness’ of Brutalism (as described by the critic Reyner Banham as early as 1955) now appeal to young inhabitants of cities. The style is seen as an important manifestation of recent history and the optimism that characterised that period. The buildings have become accepted as part of the urban landscape and they are therefore
being looked on more kindly.
And with the development of self-healing concrete,[xxv] the main disadvantage of the material (its tendency to crack, creating ugly marks in its surfaces) may not be a problem for future buildings inspired by Brutalism.
And with the development of self-healing concrete,[xxv] the main disadvantage of the material (its tendency to crack, creating ugly marks in its surfaces) may not be a problem for future buildings inspired by Brutalism.
What are your thoughts on Brutalism- do you find the style beautiful or monstrous? What is your reaction to the different expressions of modernism around the world as illustrated in the examples above? Do you think Brutalist buildings will come to be regarded in the same appreciative way we now view Victorian buildings?
[i] Weston, Richard. 100 Ideas That Changed Architecture.
Lawrence King Pub., 2011, p.160
[vi] http://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jan/12/guardianobituaries and https://next.ft.com/content/2a194cb4-1a8d-11e5-a130-2e7db721f996
[viii]
www.failedarchitecture.com/paradise-lost-birminghams-central-library-and-the-battle-over-brutalism/
[x] Weston,
Richard. 100 Ideas That Changed
Architecture. Lawrence King Pub., 2011.
[xi] Weston,
Richard. 100 Ideas That Changed
Architecture. Lawrence King Pub., 2011. p140
[xviii] leviaduc.blogspot.co.uk/p/histoie.html
[xix] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20632277
[xxii]
Pardo,
Alona, and Elias Redstone, eds. Photography and
architecture in the modern age. Barbican Art Gallery, 2014.
[xxiii]
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/apr/22/pruitt-igoe-high-rise-urban-america-history-cities
Glancey, Jonathan. Lost buildings:
demolished, destroyed, imagined, reborn. Goodman, 2008.
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