Ode to Brutalism

I saw an exceptional futurist film with brutalist architecture arguably the most pivotal player in the story.
I think contemporary styles begin to reflect people's insecurities about the future and maybe that's partly why they start to lose favor. Movies like Metropolis showed a future dystopia in art deco and 50 years later films like Logan's Run, A Clockwork Orange, and that sequel to the Planet of the Apes franchise showed dystopia in Brutalism.
 
I think contemporary styles begin to reflect people's insecurities about the future and maybe that's partly why they start to lose favor. Movies like Metropolis showed a future dystopia in art deco and 50 years later films like Logan's Run, A Clockwork Orange, and that sequel to the Planet of the Apes franchise showed dystopia in Brutalism.
I agree, but also in the case of Brutalism, it's fortified bunker style was popular at the height of the cold war - the Cuban missile crisis in the early 60s. I don't think it's a coincidence that buildings which gave the appearance of being bomb resistant would be built during that era. I was a kid and young teen during that time and remember the general feeling of paranoia in society.
 
I've always liked Paul Rudolph's work. UMass Dartmouth is where I went to undergraduate school. I was there when the campus was only a couple of years old, and loved the feeling there, in large part due to the architecture and layout of the buildings.

From the article you linked, this one (Biggs residence), I am crazy for beyond words. For me it epitomized the understated progressive feeling of mid-century America; intelligence, optimism and advancement into a brighter future. A shame it was demolished::
BiggResidence_Delray_PaulRudolph.jpg


The following one also from the article. So much of the faux brick panel flimsiness put up today, such as Belmont High School, should have been designed more like this:
OrangeCountyGovernmentCenter.jpg
 
They're straight out of a dystopian sci-fi film when it's raining often - the wind and mist from the ocean really play a role there. It looks quite bleak but there's something comforting about them.
 
Are these high-rises on Revere Beach brutalist? I would say so but I'm no expert--at any rate, I think they look pretty cool (though a bit run down).

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These look pretty good, as does Brutalism in general, compared to a lot of the flimsy stuff being put out now. At least Brutalism had a solid and substantial look to it.
 
Is this high-rise in Coolidge Corner brutalist?

Brutalism.JPG
 
I don't know if "Soviet" is considered an architectural genre, but I would classify the apartment building as such, rather than Brutalism. It does look a lot like the Soviet apartment blocks I've seen on line.
 
Here's a helpful video which sidesteps the question of whether everything from the 60s/70s that is made with bare concrete is "brutalism"
 
Moderator ponders aloud: should these old, useful, less-active threads be merged into this one:
Landmarking Brutalism
A Brief, Wondrous History of Brutalism (FTAO: Beton Brut)
 
Is this the change you wish to see on the web?

I'd actually argue against it. The way this site works, if you are looking for topics on Brutalism then having a couple threads to read through is easier than one long one.
 
Nice angles and shapes. It's not that this building is inherently ugly, it's more the setting and context it is in; i.e., City Hall plaza. If this building were on a normal city block with a normal streetfront, abutted and surrounded by buildings with streetfronts including some retail, apartments, etc., this would be fine. But as it is, standing in the middle of a vast dead zone carved out of a dense city, it looks wrong in that context.
 
I really like the shapes and the brick exterior. So much easier on the eyes than aging concrete stained by rain runoff.
Agreed. Makes me wonder how much City Hall would be improved aesthetically if the concrete received the same refurbishment that the top of the Pru did in its recent renovation...
 
This is so very not Boston-related, or even U.S.-related (Uji Station, Kyoto, Japan 1991), but sometimes when I come across examples of brutalism that I feel might make staunch haters of the aesthetic see the other side of the argument, I can't help myself... (Mods -- feel free to delete and I apologize if posting here was in poor form).

Screenshot 2023-12-08 at 11.01.58 AM.png
 

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