5 ms·
Brutalism is a style, not a term of abuse. It does often refer to high modernist 1960s and 1970s buildings which are expensive to operate, having been construct
by theoh 13y ago
Brutalism is a style, not a term of abuse. It does often refer to high modernist 1960s and 1970s buildings which are expensive to operate, having been constructed before environmental friendliness was on the agenda. Some people don't like the rectilinear boxes and raw concrete, but that's not why the term brutalism is applied to a particular subset of the buildings of that period: it was the popular name of an aesthetic movement, for better or worse. The architects in question were influenced by the Japanese aesthetic of wabi sabi, as well as the notorious (but admittedly brilliant) Le Corbusier.
- Patrick_Devine 13y agoHere's a picture of where I went to college: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Courtyard-Academic-Quadrangle-SFU-Burnaby-British-Columbia-Canada-04-A.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Courtyard... You can think of it as Caprica from Battlestar Galactica, or the FBI HQ in the X Files. Brutalism in its full glory. Even crazier is the library: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Library-SFU-Burnaby-British-Columbia-Canada-02A.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Library-SFU-Burnaby-Britis...
- jarek 13y agoI know some people have a rather low opinion about SFU academics, but maybe calling it a college is a little harsh ;) U of T did you one better: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robarts_Library.JPG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robarts_Library.JPG
- Patrick_Devine 13y agoI swear only Canada makes this distinction between "university" and "college". In the US they call what we call college "community college". And.. holy crap, that library is freaking awesome. Although, I think the Geisel Library at UCSD takes the cake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Geisel-Library.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Geisel-Library.jpg
- vertex-four 13y agoAnd the UK, and much of the rest of the world. In the UK, college usually refers to either sixth form or Further Education college, between secondary school and university.
- hexagonc 13y agoEven in America, there was a distinction, or at least there used to be. If it was a "college" then that meant there was limited to no opportunity for graduate studies. On the other hand, a "university" offered full undergraduate as well as graduate programs for most subjects. In highschool, I remember noting that some colleges where quite prestigious, such as Dartmouth and Harvey Mudd College.
- mortenjorck 13y agoI consider myself a fan of Brutalist architecture in all its bulky, muscular glory, but Robarts just about borders on frightening to me.
- jessaustin 13y agoOh god, the fire-escape-as-a-useless-tower-over-an-inaccessible-bridge trope... again. It's a stupid enormous waste of concrete and steel, and would actually be kind of OK if there were a way to get in there and survey the area without setting off alarms.
- bananas 13y agoI'm sure I've seen your college on stargate :)
- mikeash 13y agoJust to emphasize this, the term "brutalist" derives from the French "brut", not English "brutal". "Brut" means "raw", and is used to describe the exposed concrete central to this style. Although both words derive from the same Latin word brutus, that word means both "heavy" and "stupid", with the French word deriving from the former and the English word deriving from the latter. (Or so Wiktionary tells me.)
- jimmaswell 13y agoThe way I'd heard it in school was that it was a style made to purposely be as unlikably soulless as possible as some kind of statement. That's apparently not true?
- theoh 13y agoNot really. If you can get past the AR paywall (which is a bit erratic) you can read one of the original statements of the movement here: http://www.architectural-review.com/8603840.article http://www.architectural-review.com/8603840.article Slightly contentious recent discussion of the broader style here: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/feb/13/jonathan-meades-brutalism-a-z http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/feb/13/jonathan...