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  #81  
Old Posted Feb 29, 2020, 2:46 AM
megadude megadude is offline
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Originally Posted by Nite View Post
what I learnt from this thread is that brutalism looks great for building less than 5 floors and landscrapers but looks like trash for anything taller
Good observation.
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  #82  
Old Posted Feb 29, 2020, 5:15 AM
ssiguy ssiguy is offline
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I don't like most brutalism but there are some exceptions and much of this is what the actual usage of the building is for.

I have stated that I really like the London Court House but part of that is due to the building's purpose. Forgetting the fact that court houses have to be highly secure, they also have to have a strong presence, sense of permenence, strength, and yes even a bit of sterility. If the LCH was a gallery or condo or museum or City Hall or shopping centre or school or hotel or convention centre or library, then yes, it would be an epic failure but it's not.

Not all buildings can or should be pedestrian friendly. The above examples should offer a welcoming and street friendly presence due to their functions as centres and meeting places of the community. Conversely, a law court {outside of the people who get their paychecks there} is the very LAST place 99% of the population would ever want to have to go. Ditto for police stations.
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  #83  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 10:39 AM
Curmudgeon Curmudgeon is offline
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Originally Posted by Franco401 View Post
The best part of any online Brutalism discussion is people who don't like it (and there's nothing wrong with not liking it) flat-out lying and saying shit like



like maybe read a single paragraph written by any architect before making shit up.

And SSP is basically a right-wing board (evidenced by any thread where Indigenous people are a topic) so you can't blame the commies for this one
Unnecessary to read anything written by an architect who is a defender of a style the Prince of Wales described as a pile of elephant dung. It is common knowledge that Brutalism is the most reviled of all architectural styles, amongst architects as well. Even at its height it was widely loathed by the public. No other style has seen so many demolitions of buildings only a few decades old, particularly in Europe where urban aesthetics are more appreciated. While there are a few examples that are less oppressive, most are hulking, cold, depressing and even the use of the word sinister would not be a stretch. The buildings age horribly and look particularly dispiriting in the long, cold and dark winter months. Most examples scream "F-you, I exist to blight your city". See Boston City Hall for example. People have wanted it torn down since the day it opened.

Stop using "like" in every sentence, both written AND spoken. It's excessive and unnecessary as well as just plain silly. So for example, it's okay to say "I really like lasagna but today I feel like a pizza", or "I really like this time of year when the days are getting longer and spring is in the air", but not "like I was riding the bus like and this like guy got on and he was like yelling and like bothering all the passengers and like I couldn't concentrate on my like Facebook."
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  #84  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 1:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ssiguy View Post
I don't like most brutalism but there are some exceptions and much of this is what the actual usage of the building is for.

I have stated that I really like the London Court House but part of that is due to the building's purpose. Forgetting the fact that court houses have to be highly secure, they also have to have a strong presence, sense of permenence, strength, and yes even a bit of sterility. If the LCH was a gallery or condo or museum or City Hall or shopping centre or school or hotel or convention centre or library, then yes, it would be an epic failure but it's not.

Not all buildings can or should be pedestrian friendly. The above examples should offer a welcoming and street friendly presence due to their functions as centres and meeting places of the community. Conversely, a law court {outside of the people who get their paychecks there} is the very LAST place 99% of the population would ever want to have to go. Ditto for police stations.
Ah, so you'll love our Police HQ:


https://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/conta...e-station.aspx

Funny the previous post mentioned the Prince of Wales; Charles and Diana attended the opening in 1983. He did not look impressed.


https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/349662358554002854/
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  #85  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 2:32 PM
Franco401 Franco401 is offline
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Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post
Unnecessary to read anything written by an architect who is a defender of a style the Prince of Wales described as a pile of elephant dung. It is common knowledge that Brutalism is the most reviled of all architectural styles, amongst architects as well. Even at its height it was widely loathed by the public. No other style has seen so many demolitions of buildings only a few decades old, particularly in Europe where urban aesthetics are more appreciated. While there are a few examples that are less oppressive, most are hulking, cold, depressing and even the use of the word sinister would not be a stretch. The buildings age horribly and look particularly dispiriting in the long, cold and dark winter months. Most examples scream "F-you, I exist to blight your city". See Boston City Hall for example. People have wanted it torn down since the day it opened.
Yeah Prince of Wales real architectural icon there, he sure speaks for architects and the general public, stand up guy. Fuck do I love the royals, those down-to-earth normal people who represent the common interests and opinions of humanity so well.

Quote:
. It is common knowledge that Brutalism is the most reviled of all architectural styles, amongst architects as well.
Blatant lie.

Quote:
No other style has seen so many demolitions of buildings only a few decades old
Blatant lie.

Quote:
Stop using "like" in every sentence, both written AND spoken. It's excessive and unnecessary as well as just plain silly. So for example, it's okay to say "I really like lasagna but today I feel like a pizza", or "I really like this time of year when the days are getting longer and spring is in the air", but not "like I was riding the bus like and this like guy got on and he was like yelling and like bothering all the passengers and like I couldn't concentrate on my like Facebook."
Keep living up to that username.
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  #86  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 3:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post
Unnecessary to read anything written by an architect who is a defender of a style the Prince of Wales described as a pile of elephant dung. It is common knowledge that Brutalism is the most reviled of all architectural styles, amongst architects as well. Even at its height it was widely loathed by the public. No other style has seen so many demolitions of buildings only a few decades old, particularly in Europe where urban aesthetics are more appreciated. While there are a few examples that are less oppressive, most are hulking, cold, depressing and even the use of the word sinister would not be a stretch. The buildings age horribly and look particularly dispiriting in the long, cold and dark winter months. Most examples scream "F-you, I exist to blight your city". See Boston City Hall for example. People have wanted it torn down since the day it opened.

Stop using "like" in every sentence, both written AND spoken. It's excessive and unnecessary as well as just plain silly. So for example, it's okay to say "I really like lasagna but today I feel like a pizza", or "I really like this time of year when the days are getting longer and spring is in the air", but not "like I was riding the bus like and this like guy got on and he was like yelling and like bothering all the passengers and like I couldn't concentrate on my like Facebook."
You sound fun.
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  #87  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 4:28 PM
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Originally Posted by J.OT13 View Post
Diamond and Schmitt designed a spectacular new glass addition that opens up the building towards the city while respecting the original architecture by continuing the geometric patterns inside and out.


https://app06.ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/door...?id=75&lang=en


https://www.reminetwork.com/articles...antern-dec-31/


https://www.pinterest.com.mx/pin/641411171903254046/
Honestly not the biggest fan of the reno/addition. They used too much glass. Looks nice lit up at night though.
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  #88  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 5:24 PM
Djeffery Djeffery is online now
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Originally Posted by MonctonRad View Post


Reminds me of a Nazi flack tower from WW2.
I think the set designers for the Amazon series The Man In The High Castle took inspiration from it lol. Strangely, I think it's the nicest of the 3 buildings on that block too lol. The Bell building, behind it to the right in the picture is ugly as sin, and the federal government building behind the courthouse and not seen in the pic is just a plain jane office building.
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  #89  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 5:38 PM
Curmudgeon Curmudgeon is offline
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Originally Posted by vid View Post
You sound fun.
Basically, like I didn't think that like a discussion on brutalism was supposed to be like fun? Like seriously.

Both the Ottawa Police HQ and even more so the London Court House are horrific. In the case of the London Court House, far from implying that the law represents one of the highest ideals of society and that all are equal before it, it suggests that all who enter will never be seen again. Quite terrifying and tortured really. Remember, architecture is art.
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  #90  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 6:08 PM
Franco401 Franco401 is offline
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Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post
Remember, architecture is art.
Acknowledging that architecture is art while making things up for a reason to hate an architectural style is absurd.

You have repeatedly tried to impose your opinion as fact upon everyone in this thread, lied about the intentions of architects to justify it, called us globalists and totalitarians and generally been a complete nuisance right down to Grammar Nazi-ism. This was supposed to be a fun thread and you have ruined it for no good reason, all to satisfy the thoroughly debunked notion that architects of that period hated humanity because it fits into your presumably vile, hateful worldview. Kindly fuck off.
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  #91  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 7:03 PM
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I've really been enjoying this thread, although it is unfortunate when there are trolls lurking about. Brutalism is quite a beautiful style, especially when done with thought and respect to a space, and how space and people interact.
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  #92  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 7:52 PM
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I was about to say, maybe I totally had the wrong idea about brutalist architecture if it can provoke such strong reaction from a person, as any good work of art can, but then more I think about it, the more I realize that Curmudgeon probably has such a hateful and obnoxious overreaction to everything in life so it doesn't mean anything. No doubt he associates everything in life that he doesn't like to totalitarianism, nihilism, atheism, globalism, authoritarianism, and leftism. It's nothing new or special.
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  #93  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 8:32 PM
Curmudgeon Curmudgeon is offline
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^^^ Both comments above fail to make any sort of reasoned argument in defence of the brutalist style but simply engage in ad hominen attack. The brutalist style is widely viewed as dystopian (and in fact is almost exclusively used as the setting in dystopian film) and although it undeniably has it's admirers, it has met consistent criticism by the public as well as art and architecture critics. Worldwide, many brutalist structures, in most cases only 40-50 years old, have met their fate with the wrecking ball or are scheduled for demolition. The Birmingham Central Library and the Hurley Building in Boston are but two examples, in addition to dozens of brutalist tower blocks whose very designs were widely seen as encouraging crime, anti-social behaviour and social isolation . In the case of the Birmingham Library, the magnificent Victorian structure that was demolished for its construction was nothing short of cultural vandalism.

As I stated before, brutalism looks particularly foreboding and oppressive in a Canadian winter.

To me, the burned out hulk of the Greenfell Tower block, which perhaps unsurprisingly looked little worse than the structure before the fire, was emblematic of the complete and utter failure of the style and in a broader sense, the utter failure of authoritarian socialist societies.

A primary tenet of totalitarianism is intolerance of differing opinion. Suggesting that someone is a troll because they disagree with you shows a complete disrespect for open and honest public discourse. For this reason, amongst many others, the radical authoritarian left and it's desire to shut down all opinion that doesn't "tow the party line" represents the most dangerous threat to civil rights and freedoms in today's age. There are signs of improvement though with the post-Millenial generation, whatever they will eventually be named. Anecdotally speaking at least, those born starting around 2005 seem to have a much lower propensity for group-think and shaming.
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  #94  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 8:37 PM
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A small example in Vancouver is the post office on Pine Street. There aren't a lot of smaller public buildings built in this style in Canada, and the concrete decorations are unusual and interesting. The building is approachable and "human scaled" despite having lots of exposed concrete.


(from streetview)

Who planted that tree there though? Why do people in this country think that more trees are always better in urban settings?
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  #95  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 8:42 PM
Curmudgeon Curmudgeon is offline
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And remember, no one is interested in your "feelings". Stop worrying about your "feelings" and how you are enjoying yourself or what ideas you "totally" had based on how popular they seem to be among your like-minded peers. Be objective and look outside your provincial Canadian bubbles.
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  #96  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 8:46 PM
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Scotia Square gets no love:


Source
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  #97  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 9:13 PM
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Is Scotia Square really brutalist rather than simply being a cheap, drab, boxy concrete building? Brutalism has to have a certain obnoxious grandeur. It has to make joyful (or demented) use of misshapen forms that kick classical ideas of proportion where it hurts. It has to make you think the architect must be a jerk, rather than merely listless and untalented.
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  #98  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 9:35 PM
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@ someone123: pure vandalism. Total disrespect for site and surroundings. I would say that building is representative of the overwhelming number of brutalist-style structures in North America, both commercial and residential. The "better" examples depicted on this thread, such as the post office in Vancouver, which isn't awful, particularly with the landscaping and on a sunny day, are considerably rarer.

Another one worthy of mention (and destruction) is the Buffalo City Court Building, which is likely known to many in southern Ontario who have visited that city.
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  #99  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 10:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy6 View Post
Brutalism has to have a certain obnoxious grandeur. It has to make joyful (or demented) use of misshapen forms that kick classical ideas of proportion where it hurts. It has to make you think the architect must be a jerk, rather than merely listless and untalented.
This is the best definition of Brutalism I've ever read!

Though I certainly wouldn't want to come across like a curmudgeon about it.
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  #100  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2020, 10:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post
To me, the burned out hulk of the Greenfell Tower block, which perhaps unsurprisingly looked little worse than the structure before the fire, was emblematic of the complete and utter failure of the style and in a broader sense, the utter failure of authoritarian socialist societies.

Not brutalism:


https://www.theconstructionindex.co....nto-blame-game


Nor was it in an "authoritarian socialist society" nor did the fire have anything to do with either of the above, and everything to do with the flammable cladding. But I'm sure you knew that already and otherwise couldn't just miss an opportunity to be an asshole.
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