Ode to Brutalism

99% Invisible (Podcast) has a double-tribute to Michael McKinnell, co-designer of Boston City Hall. Second half of episode is a tribute to Michael Sorkin (architecture critic)
Great photos.
99percentinvisible.org

The Smell of Concrete After Rain - 99% Invisible

Stories inspired by two people from the world of architecture and design we’ve lost due to COVID. No matter which James Bond actor is your favorite, it’s undeniable that the Sean Connery films had the best villains. There’s Blofeld, who turned cat-stroking into a thing that super-villains do...
99percentinvisible.org 99percentinvisible.org
 
Beton Brut said:
Saturday afternoon...

www.eventbrite.com

UMass Dartmouth: Promoting the Public University through Architecture

Join us for a virtual tour and live discussion as part of Docomomo Tour Day, an annual nationwide celebration of modern architecture
www.eventbrite.com www.eventbrite.com
Click to expand...
Hey, that's where I got my undergraduate degree. I graduated in 1976 and really loved Paul Rudolph's buildings, both inside and out, as well as the positioning of the buildings on the campus. I felt very fortunate to have been there; the first and only person in my family to ever attend college. I went on to get a masters later at Oregon State. It's an awesome campus in a beautiful part of the state,
 
Beton Brut said:
Saturday afternoon...

www.eventbrite.com

UMass Dartmouth: Promoting the Public University through Architecture

Join us for a virtual tour and live discussion as part of Docomomo Tour Day, an annual nationwide celebration of modern architecture
www.eventbrite.com www.eventbrite.com
Click to expand...

Thanks, I know what I'm doing tomorrow.

I grew up in the area and UMD was a hub for a lot of activities throughout my childhood. I attended baseball camps there between ages 8-13, we had swim meets there (Bishop Stang used the pool back then), and I attended various one-off events there until I went away to college. It's part of the reason I became fascinated with architecture. I didn't appreciate it when I was an adolescent, but I knew something was special about it (even if many of the adults mocked the buildings). I'd highly recommend anyone in the area take a stroll through the campus if you have the chance.
 
Small world, Van!

AYS2oM7.png
 
Not a mystery - - - architecture that disrespects human beings is guaranteed to be disliked by human beings.

I definitely think Brutalist architecture can be a more appreciated style, if only the buildings took care to have publicly active and engaged ground floor and invite interaction with the pedestrian instead of the all-too common concrete fortress walls.


Well done!

1607025749359.png



1607025790117.png



You suck!


1607025445645.png


1607025630775.png
 
Last edited:
it IS pretty cool. the street-level activation could easily be improved (and should be).
 
Charlie_mta said:
The State Service Center at GC gets bad rap, but if they had finished it and built the tower as originally planned, it could have been pretty cool.

1962.05-01.01.0005.jpg
Click to expand...

This is brutalism in a nutshell right here. A stylized drawing that makes a structure look good. In reality it would be a mass of concrete totally divorced from the city fabric repellent to human life.
 
SlothofDespond said:
This is brutalism in a nutshell right here. A stylized drawing that makes a structure look good. In reality it would be a mass of concrete totally divorced from the city fabric repellent to human life.
Click to expand...

I agree with the context argument. For that matter, the entire GC complex should never have been built. However, a building like this could be great in an appropriate location elsewhere.
 
Maybe if they didn't close off the north front where all the urban engagement is and turn it into a damned parking lot... it'd be better integrated.

I've always loved this building, but acknowledge it as a failure. More in part to the stupid use and blocking of the site than the actual building though. Raked concrete is beautiful.
 
This building works in the correct context: a semi-tropical climate and an open environment. It's not in a cold harsh climate (where concrete weathers more and looks bleak) and it's not in the middle of a dense city (i.e. Boston). So it works great where it is.
 
1975 rendering of the Lahey Hospital's new campus out in Burlington... sharing not so much because the architecture is noteworthy but more for the mood that a black and white rendering of an institutional behemoth as filtered through a gritty, faded newspaper print can create. IMO it doesn't get much more big, bad brutalist seventies than this

51110254808_1d9d0fef8a_b.jpg


From Burlington Retro
 
Charlie_mta said:
This building works in the correct context: a semi-tropical climate and an open environment. It's not in a cold harsh climate (where concrete weathers more and looks bleak) and it's not in the middle of a dense city (i.e. Boston). So it works great where it is.
Click to expand...


......and it's in a locale that hates books. Perfect!
 
(can this thread be moved to general architecture & urban planning? I went there first to find this)

Everson Museum Of Art - I.M. Pei (1968)
1622810326210.png

1622810340799.png


Burroughs-Wellcome, Cafeteria - Paul Rudolph
1622810445395.png

(didn't turn out as sexy as this drawing suggests)

Source
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top