Few movements in architectural history have been as polarizing as Brutalism. Enthusiasts are few and far between, but they work tirelessly to keep Brutalist monuments not just in the public eye, but out of the path of the wrecking ball.
Although the term “Brutalism” aptly reflects the school's characteristic hulking forms, it derives, in fact, from the French phrase “béton brut,” meaning raw concrete—the material favored by the incomparable Le Corbusier, architect of the seminal 1952 Unité d'Habitation apartment block in Marseille, France.
Less than a decade after its birth in Europe, Brutalist architecture could be found around the globe. A darling of Eastern Bloc nations during the Cold War, Brutalism also took hold in the United States during the 1960s, championed by Federal commissions. In addition to government buildings, the Brutalist aesthetic also infiltrated University campuses and spawned a large number of ecclesiastical edifices.
Although Le Corbusier is regarded by many as the father of Brutalism, it was Hungarian industrial-designer-turned-architect Marcel Breuer who made the most lasting impact on the American Brutalist landscape, erecting dozens of structures across the country. Although New York City's Whitney Museum decamped from its original Breuer-designed premises in 2015, the rechristened “Breuer Building” preserves the architect's legacy.
Other Brutalist buildings have not fared as well. As they approach late middle age, many Brutalist structures are now in a shocking state of disrepair. Unloved and unwanted, they risk demolition, clearing the way for new construction on what is often deemed valuable urban real estate. Sadly, a number of important Brutalist masterpieces have already been lost, including Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago and Seattle's Moore House Annex, which previously housed a nuclear reactor on the University of Washington campus.
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