Brutalist Buildings in Your Region

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by Thundertubs

There is very little brutalism in Chicago. Almost a complete lack.

This surprises me.

...

I spent two years of my life inside this hideous monstrosity... the University of Pittsburgh's Posvar Hall


source: wikipedia

[slide_rule]

Originally Posted by Thundertubs View Post
There is very little brutalism in Chicago. Almost a complete lack.

walter netsch's university of illinois at chicago?



http://www.essential-architecture.co...rary_thumb.jpg

bertrand goldberg's developments could be considered as brutalist as well. they do have lots of exposed concrete.


http://home.att.net/~keiichiro/chica...MarinaCity.jpg

for a long time, the practicality of brutalism led to lots and lots of cut rate projects. then it fell out of favor, partly due to people associating the style with 'cheapness' and crappy university buildings. the funny thing is; it's coming back into fashion now.

[KVNBKLYN]

Here's a theater in Baltimore that I know nothing about, but it's certainly Brutalist. It looks like it's getting torn down.


Photo by me.


Photo by me.


I'm surprised no one's posted the granddaddy of Brutalism, the one that started the trend, the Unite d'Habitation in Marseilles by Le Corbusier.


By e/qual posted on flickr.


By javieriyo posted on flickr.


By Cameron Nordholm posted on flickr.


By Cameron Nordholm posted on flickr.


Brutalism at its best is sculptural, heavy, and futuristically medieval - like the Barbican Center, the Unite, Habitat 67, etc. At its worst it's bunkerlike and aniturban. It's unfortunate that most people condemn an entire architectural movement for the failings of the worst examples.

[uaarkson]

Genesee Towers - Flint, MI



Pretty terrible, and it's abandoned too! Tallest building in the city.

[RLS_rls]

^LOL! Wow that is pretty awful. I can't imagine this being considered attractive at any point in time.

[LMich]

I wouldn't considered Genesee Towers brutalist in design. It uses a far amount of concrete, but there is more to the style than simply the material used.

Maybe, it's just me, but never thought it looked that bad. It had a pretty interesting bank sign on the roof when it was active.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Thundertubs

There is very little brutalism in Chicago. Almost a complete lack. When I think of US cities with a lot of brutalist buildings I think of Boston and Minneapolis.

Not really, its not as much as some cities, but its pretty close to the average. Another beautiful brutalist structure in Chicago:

UIC Circle Campus:


uic.edu

With the gorgeous University Hall:


wikipedia

UIC was one of the real masterpieces of Brutalism until it was raped of its walkways and became just a mediocre collection of Brutalist buildings. University Hall is still one of the best examples of Brutalism in highrise architecture IMHO.

Also Northwestern University Library:


northwestern.edu

Edit: Holy shit those were huge pictures, that one is 10k pixels wide...

[uaarkson]

Originally Posted by LMich

I wouldn't considered Genesee Towers brutalist in design. It uses a far amount of concrete, but there is more to the style than simply the material used.

Maybe, it's just me, but never thought it looked that bad. It had a pretty interesting bank sign on the roof when it was active.

The facade isn't particularly brutalist, but I've always considered the shape of the building to be. Two cubes stacked on top of each other with huge concrete columns separating the two.

Either way, I (and just about everyone else) think the building is atrocious. I'd actually rather it not be demolished though, seeing as it's the tallest in the city. Re-clad and converted to dorms would be great.

[KVNBKLYN]

One of the most successful uses of Brutalism in the US can be found in the original underground stations of the DC Metro.

[Bedhead]

Great photo.

Originally Posted by slide_rule

the funny thing is; it's coming back into fashion now.

That's what is happening in Britain, for example the post by Muppet earlier in the thread shows t-shirts and mugs with brutalist buildings on.

When the Tricorn Centre (car park & shops) in Portsmouth, England was flattened a few years ago few people shed any tears, but now some are expressing a nostalgia for it, in pictures, blogs etc.


http://blabber-etcetera.blogspot.com...1_archive.html
Blabber-etcetera.com


http://tristan-savage.com/images/tricorn2.jpg
Tristan Savage, Tristan-Savage.com

[Nowhereman1280]

Here are links to the gigantic pictures I posted earlier but took down so as not to crash everyone's computers. If you think your computer can handle 8000x6000+ pixel photos, then click these links to see how glorious University of Illinois Chicago's Circle Campus once was.

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...th%20spine.jpg

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...2-Walkways.jpg

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...20Walkways.jpg

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...unny%20day.jpg

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...at%20night.jpg

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...ity%20Hall.jpg

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...te%20frame.jpg

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...ry%20Halls.jpg

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...0Staircase.jpg

Also a bunch of huge construction shots can be found here, they are pretty neat as well:

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walkingtour/1c.html


Also here is a smaller picture demonstrating the awesome modular and super confusing floorplan of the Behavioral Sciences Building (BSB):


UIC.edu

Its a pretty epic building:

http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/walking...0completed.jpg
(also too huge to post)

[KVNBKLYN]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

Also here is a smaller picture demonstrating the awesome modular and super confusing floorplan of the Behavioral Sciences Building (BSB):


UIC.edu

Its a pretty epic building:

That plan looks like a fractal.

[texcolo]

Brutal Museums:

The Fort Worth Modern Art Museum... too new to be truly brutal, but I've been in that circular concrete room... it's hella tight.






www.time.com

[alps]

Great images nowhereman, that floorplan is insane . I quite like that walkway system.

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ Yeah it was all designed by Walter Netsch who was known for his revolutionary campus designs like UIC Circle Campus and the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Its too bad they demolished those walkways since those were the most revolutionary concept of the design.

[Anders Franzén]

Originally Posted by Tim B

In the Netherlands this style isn't very common unlike, Switzerland or France.

Still, the best example of the style I've ever seen myself is located in Delft, the building opposite to the university library.

Brutalism is represented here in northen Sweden too, but most buildings are too small to be really brutal.

I'll see if I find any pictures.

[Anders Franzén]

City hall of Bergen, Norway. Built in 1974.

[rockyi]

My friend used to live in this ugly building back in the '80s.

Summit Ridge Condominiums, East Moline, IL. (circa 1974)


http://qchomes.com/expand.cgi?adid=1874

[wrab]

Mudd Library at Oberlin College (BTW one of the largest undergrad libraries in the US):


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...26tbs%3Disch:1

[JManc]

Houston ISD Administration building built in 1969



demolished in 2007 and replaced with this: