The term Brutalism refers to the post World War II Modernist style that despite dominating the 1950’s and 60’s British design, is considered one of the 21st centuries most controversial architectural and design styles. This essay will look at the reasons this style is so debated, despite it dominating in the past…….
The term brutalism could be considered controversial by the misunderstanding the name conveys. The word suggests something that is harsh, ugly and unfriendly due to the incorrect association with the word brutal. In architecture, the term “Brutalism” was actually named from the French Beton Brut, which means raw concrete. The term was first used by Le Corbusier himself to describe his own design but was formerly created by Alison …show more content…
The name reflects one of the core features of Brutalism, which is the exposure of structural materials, predominantly concrete and steel (Hopkins, 2014). Brutalist architecture commonly exhibits prominent rectangular angles, repetition, geometry, rough unfinished surfaces, vast forms and in some cases relatively small windows in comparison to the rest of the design (Waters, 2015). Despite the definition of Brutalism, some architects achieved the modern Brutalist style using other materials such as brick, rough stone and glass. In some cases the services are exposed such as the …show more content…
Cold, harsh and unwelcoming (SITE) like the name could be interpreted the material of choice has not weathered well in some cases. It was marveled at and acknowledged as something new and exciting when it was first developed and aesthetically lived up to this. As the material became more common, and time progressed it was judged through its appearance. Staining of the concrete is a common occurrence, where some see the history and mark it to the character of the building others take it on face value as a building that is stained, rough and displeasing to the eye. The vast scale of Brutalist architecture highlights these issues and to people living in the surrounding area can be offended t the ‘eye sore’ in their community.
The term brutalism could be considered controversial by the misunderstanding the name conveys. The word suggests something that is harsh, ugly and unfriendly due to the incorrect association with the word brutal. In architecture, the term “Brutalism” was actually named from the French Beton Brut, which means raw concrete. The term was first used by Le Corbusier himself to describe his own design but was formerly created by Alison …show more content…
The name reflects one of the core features of Brutalism, which is the exposure of structural materials, predominantly concrete and steel (Hopkins, 2014). Brutalist architecture commonly exhibits prominent rectangular angles, repetition, geometry, rough unfinished surfaces, vast forms and in some cases relatively small windows in comparison to the rest of the design (Waters, 2015). Despite the definition of Brutalism, some architects achieved the modern Brutalist style using other materials such as brick, rough stone and glass. In some cases the services are exposed such as the …show more content…
Cold, harsh and unwelcoming (SITE) like the name could be interpreted the material of choice has not weathered well in some cases. It was marveled at and acknowledged as something new and exciting when it was first developed and aesthetically lived up to this. As the material became more common, and time progressed it was judged through its appearance. Staining of the concrete is a common occurrence, where some see the history and mark it to the character of the building others take it on face value as a building that is stained, rough and displeasing to the eye. The vast scale of Brutalist architecture highlights these issues and to people living in the surrounding area can be offended t the ‘eye sore’ in their community.