Are you interested in campus architecture? Do you actually find Brutalism intriguing as applied to campus architecture? This is the thread for you!
I noted in another (not so specifically related) thread that some of my favorite examples of campus Brutalism are at the University of Pittsburgh, including because some of them are very nicely juxtaposed with the Beaux Arts Carnegie library and museum complex. Here again are some photos, first of Hillman Library and Posvar Hall, and then of the Carnegie complex with Hillman in the background:
You can also “stand” near 4236 Forbes Avenue on Google Maps street view, and swivel back and forth to see the relationship.
Here is another cool shot of Posvar with Hillman in the background:
But executive summary, in the 1950s in Europe, a lot of countries, not least the UK and Eastern Bloc, were rebuilding after WW II. Brutalism was a type of modernist reaction to earlier, more ornamental and nostalgic civic architecture from before WW II, including Beaux Arts, and it was also relatively economical and quick.
In terms of characteristics, it featured a lot of unpainted concrete, modular designs, and angular geometric shapes with minimal ornamentation, although often if you look closely there is some texture and such. Sometimes the forms are more curvy too–yet another important example at Pitt are the Litchfield Towers, which are cylinders:
Another part of the idea was often that you could sort of see the internal function of the building expressed on the outside. That Wikipedia article uses the Boston City Hall to illustrate that concept, because those different shapes on the outside reflect different sorts of rooms and such on the inside:
Anyway, Brutalism spread to the US and became popular for a while, including with governments and universities. But then by the 1970s or so it fell hard out of favor. People thought it was ugly, and associated it with socialism/totalitarianism.
And a lot of people still don’t like it, and a lot of Brutalist buildings are being torn down or modified to meet contemporary tastes. But some people are beginning to push back to preserve this era.
Bauer Wurster hall at UC Berkeley is the home of the architecture department, and is — to my eyes — the ugliest building on the whole campus. Recommended if you like the Venn overlap of dystopian Star Wars set design and prison-industrial complex vibes.
Newhouse 1 is an I.M. Pei design from the early 1960s, and definitely seems to be playing around a bit with Brutalist elements. However, my understanding is Pei was also inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, which long predates Brutalism:
The Goddard Library at Clark University, Worcester, MA. Love it! It’s undergoing some repairs now and covered in scaffolding. It will be even more awesome!
I just think it is cool that at that particular location you can contrast two different eras of civic architecture, where one is really a reaction to the second. I find that supplies a context for the Brutalist buildings that helps me appreciate them a little more.
This is a great description, and to me kinda appealing, actually! Like, I wouldn’t want to live in a whole campus, let alone city, like that. But for people like me who like eclectic campuses and cities, that is kinda a cool element to throw in.
By the way, to back up your prison-industrial complex reference, another very famous/infamous US example of Brutalism is the J. Edgar Hoover Building (FBI Headquarters):
I might note Goddard Library is another great example of how the different interior functions are being reflected on the exterior.
I forget who said this, and frankly exactly what they said, but someone once quipped something like that looking at Brutalist buildings is like looking at people with their clothes and skin ripped off. Again, I think in context that was intended as a negative, but if you approach it with an open mind . . . .
My first reaction to seeing the FBI HQ was extremely poor, but some former colleagues and I used to note it was a great example of truth in advertising . . . .
