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Saving Brutalism: The campaign to preserve concrete icons
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/201...concrete-icons
SOS Brutalism’ is showing at the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt (Deutsches Architekturmuseum), where Elser is a curator. It aims to raise awareness of a style that was born in Britain in the 1950s, spread worldwide, and survived into the 1970s but is now, Elser says, endangered. The name derives not, as one might assume, from the word brutal, but from the French term béton brut, meaning ‘exposed concete’.
It applies to university buildings in Britain, cultural centres in Japan, museums in South America and parliament buildings in Africa. Many of these massive raw concrete monuments to modernity – often considered dehumanising and bleak – are currently threatened by bulldozers. Yet in recent years, Brutalism has also enjoyed a hipster renaissance on social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr. There are even lavishly illustrated coffee-table books and a perfume called Concrete, sold in a bottle made of (what else?) exposed concrete.
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Elser argues that no other architectural style has as many fans as Brutalism.
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/201...l-is-beautiful
Post-war concrete architecture was decried by many as ugly – but now Brutalist buildings are back in fashion, writes Jonathan Glancey.
In fact, Lasdun’s centenary this month, focuses attention anew on what exactly Brutalism was, why it was so prevalent in so many countries, why it was so short lived and why, after a long period in the critical doldrums, it has been nudged back up the critical ladder to link hands with Modernism, Palladianism, Baroque and Art Nouveau.
In fact, Lasdun’s centenary this month, focuses attention anew on what exactly Brutalism was, why it was so prevalent in so many countries, why it was so short lived and why, after a long period in the critical doldrums, it has been nudged back up the critical ladder to link hands with Modernism, Palladianism, Baroque and Art Nouveau.
Concrete jungle: why brutalist architecture is back in style
https://www.theguardian.com/artandde...-back-in-style
From Washington DC to London, concrete edifices aren’t to everyone’s taste, but they’re here to stay – and people have learned to love these sights
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When they’re treated with care and respect, brutalist buildings can become treasured by a city in a way that glass-and-steel towers very rarely are. In London, for instance, locals and tourists alike swarm to the concrete cultural buildings on the south bank of the Thames at Waterloo Bridge. These masterpieces – the Royal Festival Hall, the Hayward Gallery, Denys Lasdun’s National Theatre – are a beloved part of the capital, a destination even for people with no particular reason to go there.
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But there’s another force driving the brutalist resurgence, which is maybe less austere and selfless: photography, in general, and Instagram, in particular.
If you’ve seen High-Rise, the 2015 Ben Wheatley adaptation of JG Ballard’s novel, you will surely remember the vision of Tom Hiddleston’s smooth yet chiseled naked body as seen from above, framed by a raw-concrete balcony. The intersection of the organic with concrete makes for striking visuals, and even concrete on its own has stunning visual power. Something as simple as a shadow packs a much harder punch when it falls across a beautifully textured grey background.
Say what you like about brutalist buildings, you have to admit they look gorgeous in photographs and in coffee-table books such as This Brutal World, recently published by Phaidon. Brutalism might still be a bit austere for many people’s taste. But when you live in something that good looking, you can’t help but feel a little bit of glamor by association.
...
When they’re treated with care and respect, brutalist buildings can become treasured by a city in a way that glass-and-steel towers very rarely are. In London, for instance, locals and tourists alike swarm to the concrete cultural buildings on the south bank of the Thames at Waterloo Bridge. These masterpieces – the Royal Festival Hall, the Hayward Gallery, Denys Lasdun’s National Theatre – are a beloved part of the capital, a destination even for people with no particular reason to go there.
...
But there’s another force driving the brutalist resurgence, which is maybe less austere and selfless: photography, in general, and Instagram, in particular.
If you’ve seen High-Rise, the 2015 Ben Wheatley adaptation of JG Ballard’s novel, you will surely remember the vision of Tom Hiddleston’s smooth yet chiseled naked body as seen from above, framed by a raw-concrete balcony. The intersection of the organic with concrete makes for striking visuals, and even concrete on its own has stunning visual power. Something as simple as a shadow packs a much harder punch when it falls across a beautifully textured grey background.
Say what you like about brutalist buildings, you have to admit they look gorgeous in photographs and in coffee-table books such as This Brutal World, recently published by Phaidon. Brutalism might still be a bit austere for many people’s taste. But when you live in something that good looking, you can’t help but feel a little bit of glamor by association.
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