Ode to Brutalism

The Fed Reserve Bank Building is a pretty good example of Brutalism.
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Not Brutalist. Brutalism orginates from the term beton brut which is all about raw exposed concrete.

Fed Reserve just seems like some kind of modernism. It's one of my favorite buildings though.
 
The Fed Reserve is most definitely beholden to the observer.

i'm comfortable calling it Modernism – and just as comfortable calling it Brutalist. An

When you're standing on the Ft Point Channel side of South Station with a good view of it just after twilight, it absolutely screams 'Brutalist Boston.'

But, there are other angles, where the tower better expresses elements of both.
 
odurandina said:
The Fed Reserve is most definitely beholden to the observer.

i'm comfortable calling it Modernism – and just as comfortable calling it Brutalist. An

When you're standing on the Ft Point Channel side of South Station with a good view of it just after twilight, it absolutely screams 'Brutalist Boston.'

But, there are other angles, where the tower better expresses elements of both.
Click to expand...



Beholden means "indebted". You're misusing it.

Brutalism, as meddlepal already pointed out, refers to raw concrete.

Words have meanings and definitions. Learn them. You don't get to misuse terms because you're "comfortable with" it.
 
I like that transformation, but the aged grey concrete is still an eyesore.

Painting the concrete, each floor a different complimentary color, would look good. It would of course become an ongoing maintenence cost, but worth it. If built new I would go with intergral coloring of the concrete rather than paint; still, color applid to this particular concrete structure would update it nicely in my opinion.
 
I don't mind the concrete in between the windows-when it has something to break it up. but when you have a sheer concrete facade it is an eyesore.
 
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Rowley Way in north London (near St. John’s Wood). Beautiful on a number of levels actually. Look at it from the north - where it abuts the railroad tracks - you can see how it’s designed to cleave its heaviest walls against the tracks to minimize noise from trains. The stacked style was a huge step up for public housing from the cheap terraces and terrible high rises. Here there’s outdoor space for every unit, fresh air and direct sun, a design that actually encourages lively uses and enjoyable public spaces. I think it’s fared much better over the decades than other similar housing projects because it hasn’t suffered from resident neglect to anywhere near the same degree. Check out some color photos taken more recently - black and white doesn’t do this justice (it usually doesn’t, when it comes to brutalist architecture IMO)

Edit - just noticed your link to the book - cool!
 
Really handsome and thoughtfully planned housing. As Shep points out, the neglect-driven dysfunction we see in American public housing isn’t as much of an issue here. It’s a foregone conclusion that the level of effort that the housing council puts into repairs and maintenance is much higher than what we’d see here in the States.

Thanks for the tip on the book. I’ll add it to my list, along with Alan Hess’s latest, and Thom Mayes new take on historic preservation.
 
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Those pictures are gorgeous but there is one problem. There are no people. This is architecture porn, not good urbanism. Probably just how he shoots them. So many interesting design choices I know which are probably quite popular. I just wish his images showed how people actually use these buildings.
 
I agree, van, and I wish when I was a college student doing my year in London many years ago that I had the appreciation for brutalism that I do now. I did see the Barbican, but if it were me now, I would take that book and go marching all over north London to see how these places function as living spaces. Whenever I get around to going back, I guess!
 
My God. i'm surprised people who endlessly call for great urbanism and object to Orwellian, dystopian plazas, walled monoliths, and pedestrian non-activation – don't call out EVERY brutalist thing from Back Bay to MIT, and Govt Center for the unique barbarism they have wrought.

The multi-generation not properly utilized, abjectly barren, Christian Science Park.... the pond is fine. The rest of it is an inhumane, confused cement colossus for tourists to ponder and properly move on from.... especially during the lifeless cold months. The State Service Center is another head scratcher that properly frightens people away.

These plazas should have been a cultural oases, but instead became perfect sets for a George Orwell picture. Between all the Church buildings, and Brutalism, Boston's opportunities for increasing public space are too few that these mistakes not be wiped clean for an intelligent redo.

Something spectacular should happen at the Midtown Hotel akin to a less-ritzy Newbury Street with the focus on a variety of dining experiences on the lower floors. It's a unique opportunity to invite people from new area projects, including the Huntington, the redo of Back Bay Station, 40 Trinity, parcels 7, 12, 13 and 15, and fill this sleepy stretch of Huntington Ave with residents new and old.

It could be an exciting Huntington Ave for Boston to welcome in. What are we waiting for?
 
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