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Back in my days of architecture school we threw around terms such as "human scale" and "typology" in classes. The article demonstrates well the idea of "typolo

by vtange 10y ago

Back in my days of architecture school we threw around terms such as "human scale" and "typology" in classes. The article demonstrates well the idea of "typology" - how we came to associate Brutalist structures with FBI-style surveillance states. Did you know we also associate stuff like Greek Columns with government in general? The "human scale" term refers to how a building's shape and texture should be broken up to break up any notion of the building being looming/threatening to tiny humans by comparison - kind of like how a person would prefer wearing different colors as opposed to a monocolor jumpsuit. Almost all "evil" architecture fails human scale design on purpose by making oversized elements or using the same material everywhere - the idea is to make the organization seem greater than the individual or even society, and make it seem impossible to challenge. This is also seen in architecture built or designed by fascist Germany and Italy back in the 1930s, for exactly this reason. Look up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist_architecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist_architecture if you want more.

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semi-extrinsic 10y ago
Out of curiosity, how do you think the SIS building in London fits in architecturally? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIS_Building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIS_Building
- vtange 10y ago
  This building is less brutalist and more postmodern - notice how it has a less obvious shape (it's not just a tower or a big rectangle or anything) and is instead made up by many different shapes. Postmodernism actually tried to remedy some of the downsides of modernism/brutalism by trying out mixtures of forms and textures. The SIS still suffers from a limited material palette and needs further break-up to reach the human scale. Especially at the ground level - imagine standing next to that building - it would feel like standing beside a huge wall!
  - jrochkind1 10y ago
    Eh, that sounds like a 'no true scotsman' argument -- if the building doesn't suck, it must not be brutalist! Some of my favorite brutalist buildings are libraries, somehow it works very well for the kind of very public building a library is. And the best definitely feel human-scale to interact with (often _especially_ in the interior plans, which you can't get from a picture really), and are more visually interesting than a big rectangle. I don't think anyone said if it's not a big rectangle it's not brutalist! Here's one I'm fond of: https://library.ucsd.edu/about/us/geisel-building.html https://library.ucsd.edu/about/us/geisel-building.html
    - linksnapzz 10y ago
      Funny enough, Geisel has many of the same problems that Boston City Hall/ Gov't Ctr. does...two that leap to mind is that the entrances to both are hidden under the concrete superstructure, and that the pedestrian approach to both at ground-level involves crossing a flat, empty concrete plain. Rarely if ever did I see anyone at UCSD taking advantage of the area underneath the stack tower, even for shade on hot summer days. That said, the view from the stacks, with the floor-to-ceiling glass, was spectacular. Especially looking north, down the slope of pepper canyon. The rest of the library has the sort of issues that are common to Brutalist buildings in La Jolla-for instance, reinforced concrete is not as durable when sitting close to the ocean as you might hope. As was put by a faculty member I worked with "...the windows don't open; but they do leak!" I prefer the enthusiastic futurist poured-concrete '60s buildings to the craptacular corporate office-park nonsense that so many newer buildings on campus have. Fun fact: Pereira did not intend the Geisel Library stacks to look like the concrete & glass banyan tree that got built...it was originally supposed to be a concrete sphere on a single, giant column!
DrPhish 10y ago
If you're interested in a good overview of Architecture in the context of period art/philosophy (and culture in general), it would be hard to recommend Kenneth Clark's Civilisation [0] series more. It shows the development of architecture through the ages in context, and he has extremely interesting and insightful views on what that says about the human condition of the people living at the time. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilisation_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilisation_(TV_series)
Finnucane 10y ago
That's funny, in the context of American buildings, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Greek columns in Georgian mansions. Only after that do I think of perhaps courthouses. Here in Boston, the brutalist monstrosity that is our city hall has its Soviet oppressiveness enhanced by the pillbox-laden concrete wasteland that surrounds it. It really is a monument to government power.
- ghaff 10y ago
  Boston City Hall really is an epic attempt to outdo Soviet era totalitarian architecture. There is at least some effort to do something with the windswept brickyard that surrounds it. [1] I haven't followed these plans all that closely but, to the degree the surrounding space can be made more useful/inviting, it would help a lot. I'd also note that the brutalist addition to the Boston Public Library always struck me as rather a desecration of the original Beaux Arts structure but the recent remodel and cleanup actually created a rather open and airy space. I still don't love the architecture but it's a big improvement. [1] https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/boston-city-hall-plaza-redesign-designers-selected https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/boston-city-hall-plaza-rede...
  - hx87 10y ago
    Pure brutalism is bad enough, but in Boston (and to a lesser extent, the rest of the US) we just had to muck it up with fake-traditional touches like brick facing that make it look so much worse. IMO the worst part of City Hall isn't the concrete honeycomb superstructure, it's the brick-clad base. Brick is good when its appearance makes structural sense: arches or lintels over openings, proper sills, a combination of headers and stretchers, etc. However it's always monolithic, and the only thing worse than monolithic concrete is monolithic brick. That's why I'll take the BPL extension over city hall any day--at least BPL is purely brutalist and makes no apologies for it.
    - stcredzero 10y ago
      Pure brutalism is bad enough I think, just for the building itself, that the Houston Public Library serves its function very well. It is an excellent building for its purpose, and I rather like going there. The courtyard outside, though, is a stellar example of how US culture has completely forgotten how to create public spaces of value. (Why is it that Houston, of all places, seems to be challenged to remember why shade is useful!)
jrochkind1 10y ago
There's a lot of brutalist architecture which is actually delightfully human scale. I love the good stuff and hate how 'brutalist' has become a synonym for 'domineering and brutal' to many.
- jpindar 10y ago
  Same here. While there are obvious exceptions, the style often makes me think of colleges and especially community colleges, which is a very good association. College buildings in this style are typically not as huge and monolithic as government buildings and often have brick, glass, and wood accents, which soften the look.

by vtange 10y ago

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semi-extrinsic 10y ago

Out of curiosity, how do you think the SIS building in London fits in architecturally? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIS_Building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIS_Building

vtange 10y ago
This building is less brutalist and more postmodern - notice how it has a less obvious shape (it's not just a tower or a big rectangle or anything) and is instead made up by many different shapes. Postmodernism actually tried to remedy some of the downsides of modernism/brutalism by trying out mixtures of forms and textures. The SIS still suffers from a limited material palette and needs further break-up to reach the human scale. Especially at the ground level - imagine standing next to that building - it would feel like standing beside a huge wall!
- jrochkind1 10y ago
  Eh, that sounds like a 'no true scotsman' argument -- if the building doesn't suck, it must not be brutalist! Some of my favorite brutalist buildings are libraries, somehow it works very well for the kind of very public building a library is. And the best definitely feel human-scale to interact with (often _especially_ in the interior plans, which you can't get from a picture really), and are more visually interesting than a big rectangle. I don't think anyone said if it's not a big rectangle it's not brutalist! Here's one I'm fond of: https://library.ucsd.edu/about/us/geisel-building.html https://library.ucsd.edu/about/us/geisel-building.html
  - linksnapzz 10y ago
    Funny enough, Geisel has many of the same problems that Boston City Hall/ Gov't Ctr. does...two that leap to mind is that the entrances to both are hidden under the concrete superstructure, and that the pedestrian approach to both at ground-level involves crossing a flat, empty concrete plain. Rarely if ever did I see anyone at UCSD taking advantage of the area underneath the stack tower, even for shade on hot summer days. That said, the view from the stacks, with the floor-to-ceiling glass, was spectacular. Especially looking north, down the slope of pepper canyon. The rest of the library has the sort of issues that are common to Brutalist buildings in La Jolla-for instance, reinforced concrete is not as durable when sitting close to the ocean as you might hope. As was put by a faculty member I worked with "...the windows don't open; but they do leak!" I prefer the enthusiastic futurist poured-concrete '60s buildings to the craptacular corporate office-park nonsense that so many newer buildings on campus have. Fun fact: Pereira did not intend the Geisel Library stacks to look like the concrete & glass banyan tree that got built...it was originally supposed to be a concrete sphere on a single, giant column!

DrPhish 10y ago

If you're interested in a good overview of Architecture in the context of period art/philosophy (and culture in general), it would be hard to recommend Kenneth Clark's Civilisation [0] series more. It shows the development of architecture through the ages in context, and he has extremely interesting and insightful views on what that says about the human condition of the people living at the time. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilisation_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilisation_(TV_series)

Finnucane 10y ago

That's funny, in the context of American buildings, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Greek columns in Georgian mansions. Only after that do I think of perhaps courthouses. Here in Boston, the brutalist monstrosity that is our city hall has its Soviet oppressiveness enhanced by the pillbox-laden concrete wasteland that surrounds it. It really is a monument to government power.

ghaff 10y ago
Boston City Hall really is an epic attempt to outdo Soviet era totalitarian architecture. There is at least some effort to do something with the windswept brickyard that surrounds it. [1] I haven't followed these plans all that closely but, to the degree the surrounding space can be made more useful/inviting, it would help a lot. I'd also note that the brutalist addition to the Boston Public Library always struck me as rather a desecration of the original Beaux Arts structure but the recent remodel and cleanup actually created a rather open and airy space. I still don't love the architecture but it's a big improvement. [1] https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/boston-city-hall-plaza-redesign-designers-selected https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/boston-city-hall-plaza-rede...
- hx87 10y ago
  Pure brutalism is bad enough, but in Boston (and to a lesser extent, the rest of the US) we just had to muck it up with fake-traditional touches like brick facing that make it look so much worse. IMO the worst part of City Hall isn't the concrete honeycomb superstructure, it's the brick-clad base. Brick is good when its appearance makes structural sense: arches or lintels over openings, proper sills, a combination of headers and stretchers, etc. However it's always monolithic, and the only thing worse than monolithic concrete is monolithic brick. That's why I'll take the BPL extension over city hall any day--at least BPL is purely brutalist and makes no apologies for it.
  - stcredzero 10y ago
    Pure brutalism is bad enough I think, just for the building itself, that the Houston Public Library serves its function very well. It is an excellent building for its purpose, and I rather like going there. The courtyard outside, though, is a stellar example of how US culture has completely forgotten how to create public spaces of value. (Why is it that Houston, of all places, seems to be challenged to remember why shade is useful!)

jrochkind1 10y ago

There's a lot of brutalist architecture which is actually delightfully human scale. I love the good stuff and hate how 'brutalist' has become a synonym for 'domineering and brutal' to many.

jpindar 10y ago
Same here. While there are obvious exceptions, the style often makes me think of colleges and especially community colleges, which is a very good association. College buildings in this style are typically not as huge and monolithic as government buildings and often have brick, glass, and wood accents, which soften the look.