I think someone here on HN actually wrote in regards to the post about "facading" (keeping the facade, tearing down the building behind it) that the difference

I think someone here on HN actually wrote in regards to the post about "facading" (keeping the facade, tearing down the building behind it) that the difference between concrete and stone, and steel and glass, is that stone and concrete invites you to touch it. There's something cold and alien about steel and glass that makes even a concrete wall feel inviting. It's also not transparent, feels more solid, and is much closer to our "mud hut" past than any modern office complex. Sure, brutalist buildings can look... brutal. But I've always felt that the surrounding area, the colors and the interior design makes more difference than anything. You could definitely make a brutalist neighborhood feel much more alive and inviting if you just paid attention to those things than an ice cold, modern investment bank sky scraper.