7 ms·

It’s likely by this pedantic definition that no automobile could ever be brutalist. Architectural gatekeeping.

by et2o 7y ago

Negitivefrags 7y ago
“The truck is consumerist, whereas brutalism’s monumentality is civic. The truck’s boldness serves the bravado of an individual, whereas brutalism’s visual power was meant to project the shared dignity of the public realm.” Literally no product you can buy would meet this definition. I guess you could make a brutalist city bus?
- toasterlovin 7y ago
  > "the shared dignity of the public realm" That is a peculiar way to describe what Brutalism projects. I've always thought that it projected the sinister power of bureaucracy, and that was why government officials fell for it as hard as they did. (I know you're just quoting the author.)
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    > That is a peculiar way to describe what Brutalism projects By the express wording of the quote, it doesn't describe what Brutalism projects but what Brutalism was meant to project.
- et2o 7y ago
  Not to mention a major motivation for electric vehicles is the public good and preservation of the public realm.
  - cagenut 7y ago
    its better to think of it more as public harm reduction than public "good"
    - et2o 7y ago
      Same thing really
    - sintaxi 7y ago
      If people didn't see vehicles as a net positive compared to the alternative they wouldn't own them.
      - ken 7y ago
        Not really. I see them as a necessary evil. Everyone else has one and expects me to be able to get around, so I have one too. If public transit were decent, I wouldn’t own a car.
        egdod 7y ago
        necessary evil == net positive compared to the alternative
      - kolinko 7y ago
        People own them because of a net positive for themselves, not for the society.
- 74ls00 7y ago
  I definitely think it could be argued that there are many examples of brutalistic public transport - a great comparison would be New York City’s aluminium cans (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/MTA_NYC_Subway_J_train_leaving_Lorimer_St..JPG/1920px-MTA_NYC_Subway_J_train_leaving_Lorimer_St..JPG https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/MT...) versus London’s tube trains with their curves and glass (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Shiny_and_new%2C_%27S%27_Stock_at_Farringdon._-_panoramio.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Shiny_an...)
- criddell 7y ago
  The word brutalist ultimately means whatever it is that it communicates.
Tempest1981 7y ago
Would the BatMobile be an example?
yoz-y 7y ago
Excuse me but Jeremy Clarkson would beg to differ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbU0UJAdFj8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbU0UJAdFj8 If we remove the requirement about the concrete, then Geoff car would also tick all of the boxes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCSNCs7bwCw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCSNCs7bwCw
GrayTextIsTruth 7y ago
They give some examples. Like how it doesn’t show any of the bolts or welds and really is just a shell on a vehicle. A brutalist vehicle would be more raw.
jrumbut 7y ago
I think this could be true, in the same way that I'm not sure a window air conditioner could ever be Rubenesque. I find this definition the opposite of pedantic, paying attention to the spirit of the thing rather than the smaller details. Brutalism is not really a style for personal cars, and certainly the entire Elon Musk saga is non-Brutalist as you can get.
masklinn 7y ago
> It’s likely by this pedantic definition that no automobile could ever be brutalist. Brutalist comes from the french "brut" meaning "raw". So a car could perfectly well be brutalist by not hiding its nature under paint and covers. The unpainted Reventon replica[0] is conceptually closer: it's bolted and welded sheet metal, and that's left obviously visible. [0] http://www.gadgetsandgizmos.org/man-builds-replica-lamborghini-reventon-from-sheet-metal/ http://www.gadgetsandgizmos.org/man-builds-replica-lamborghi...

It’s likely by this pedantic definition that no automobile could ever be brutalist. Architectural gatekeeping.

by et2o 7y ago

It’s likely by this pedantic definition that no automobile could ever be brutalist. Architectural gatekeeping.

“The truck is consumerist, whereas brutalism’s monumentality is civic. The truck’s boldness serves the bravado of an individual, whereas brutalism’s visual power was meant to project the shared dignity of the public realm.” Literally no product you can buy would meet this definition. I guess you could make a brutalist city bus?

toasterlovin 7y ago
> "the shared dignity of the public realm" That is a peculiar way to describe what Brutalism projects. I've always thought that it projected the sinister power of bureaucracy, and that was why government officials fell for it as hard as they did. (I know you're just quoting the author.)
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > That is a peculiar way to describe what Brutalism projects By the express wording of the quote, it doesn't describe what Brutalism projects but what Brutalism was meant to project.
et2o 7y ago
Not to mention a major motivation for electric vehicles is the public good and preservation of the public realm.
- cagenut 7y ago
  its better to think of it more as public harm reduction than public "good"
  - et2o 7y ago
    Same thing really
  - sintaxi 7y ago
    If people didn't see vehicles as a net positive compared to the alternative they wouldn't own them.
    - ken 7y ago
      Not really. I see them as a necessary evil. Everyone else has one and expects me to be able to get around, so I have one too. If public transit were decent, I wouldn’t own a car.
      - egdod 7y ago
        necessary evil == net positive compared to the alternative
    - kolinko 7y ago
      People own them because of a net positive for themselves, not for the society.
74ls00 7y ago
I definitely think it could be argued that there are many examples of brutalistic public transport - a great comparison would be New York City’s aluminium cans (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/MTA_NYC_Subway_J_train_leaving_Lorimer_St..JPG/1920px-MTA_NYC_Subway_J_train_leaving_Lorimer_St..JPG https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/MT...) versus London’s tube trains with their curves and glass (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Shiny_and_new%2C_%27S%27_Stock_at_Farringdon._-_panoramio.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Shiny_an...)
criddell 7y ago
The word brutalist ultimately means whatever it is that it communicates.

Tempest1981 7y ago

Would the BatMobile be an example?

yoz-y 7y ago

Excuse me but Jeremy Clarkson would beg to differ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbU0UJAdFj8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbU0UJAdFj8 If we remove the requirement about the concrete, then Geoff car would also tick all of the boxes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCSNCs7bwCw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCSNCs7bwCw

GrayTextIsTruth 7y ago

They give some examples. Like how it doesn’t show any of the bolts or welds and really is just a shell on a vehicle. A brutalist vehicle would be more raw.

jrumbut 7y ago

I think this could be true, in the same way that I'm not sure a window air conditioner could ever be Rubenesque. I find this definition the opposite of pedantic, paying attention to the spirit of the thing rather than the smaller details. Brutalism is not really a style for personal cars, and certainly the entire Elon Musk saga is non-Brutalist as you can get.

masklinn 7y ago

> It’s likely by this pedantic definition that no automobile could ever be brutalist. Brutalist comes from the french "brut" meaning "raw". So a car could perfectly well be brutalist by not hiding its nature under paint and covers. The unpainted Reventon replica[0] is conceptually closer: it's bolted and welded sheet metal, and that's left obviously visible. [0] http://www.gadgetsandgizmos.org/man-builds-replica-lamborghini-reventon-from-sheet-metal/ http://www.gadgetsandgizmos.org/man-builds-replica-lamborghi...