The monolithic concrete that forms some of our most creative 20th-century architectural heritage is in danger of disappearing. Brutalism, that heftily named form of modernism that favors right-angles and a palette with the colors of a storm, is facing demolition and decay around the world, whether the Birmingham Central Library in England demolished this month, or Chicagoās Prentice Womenās Hospital torn down last year.
SOSBrutalism is a new initiative for raising awareness of the preservation of āour beloved concrete monsters.ā A collaboration between WĆ¼stenrot Foundation, Deutsche Architekturmuseum (DAM), and Uncube, itās aimed at growing a database of the worldās Brutalist architecture, with over 700 entries so far. In April of 2017, the project will culminate with an exhibition at DAM in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
āBy showing the phenomenal diversity of forms and shapes, and presenting remarkable, imaginative, or outrageous examples of this wonderful style, we try to create a sense of wonder and admiration for those buildings and sway people from preconceived notions of a kind of oppressive, dull, gloomy, unattractive architecture that is not worthy of preservation,ā Oliver Elser, a curator at DAM, told Hyperallergic.
The online database encourages crowd interaction for photographs, history, and preservation status (with color categories from red to blue depending on threat of demolition), with endangered buildings and their preservation campaigns being a major focus.
There are entries for the 1973 terraced La Pyramide by Rinaldo Olivieri on the Ivory Coast, which is mostly abandoned and deteriorating; the USSR-era Buzludzha Memorial in Bulgaria, a sort of UFO-shaped behemoth in the Balkan mountains, vacant since 1991; and the surreal (and infamous) 1960 El Helicoide by Jorge Romero GutiƩrrez in Caracas, Venezuela, which has endured stretches of abandonment, squatting, shadowy government surveillance operations, and political prisoner housing. While a recurring theme is a lack of maintenance, practical use, and the impact of decay, there are other risks like a chapel in Lebanon damaged by a missile.
Felix Torkar, curatorial assistant at DAM, noted that Brutalism āstill suffers from a particularly bad reputation,ā with its heavy name derived from Le Corbusierās ābĆ©ton brutā meaning exposed or raw concrete. He added that some of SOSBrutalismās entries were discovered through āāthe 10 ugliest buildings of xyzā listicles.ā
āIn theory, exposed concrete is a great, long-lasting material, but it requires a certain amount of maintenance,ā Torkar explained. āMost architects had optimistic projections ā this was largely before the 1973 oil crisis ā for maintenance budgets and future upkeep, which, in a lot of cases, never materialized. This is especially true with large-scale public housing projects, some of which pretty much started immediately decaying in record time after being completed ā one more reason for Brutalismās bad image.ā
Their database is riddled with recent losses like the modular 1971 Orange County Government Center by Paul Rudolph in Goshen, New York, and the 1970 Stage Center by John MacLane Johansen in Oklahoma City that mixed colorful farm catalogue elements with its concrete. Yet there are examples of successful contemporary use, such as Gordon Bunshaftās circular 1974 Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum, and Marcel Breuerās 1961 St. Johnās Abbey Church in Collegeville, Minnesota, with its sculptural bell tower.
SOSBrutalism is only one of a number of recent actions of Brutalism appreciation, including the Brutalist London Map from Blue Crow Media and the Twentieth Century Society, which includes a walking tour of 50 of the cityās buildings, or more playful projects like Zupagrafikaās paper cut-out models of Londonās brutalist architecture. Like these projects, SOSBrutalism is encouraging a recognition of the modernist concrete architecture in our everyday lives, and how it represents design history, and gives the cityscapes a distinct character.
āSince weāve started this project, weāve noticed in ourselves that once you start looking in your own city you start noticing all those wonderful concrete monsters youāve been walking by for years,ā Elser said. āIn the long run, we think that if you know and remember certain styles and buildings, youāre more likely to appreciate them and get attached to them, rather than tearing them down.ā
Explore over 700 examples of Brutalist architecture at SOSBrutalism.
I always thought brutalist architecture to be a bit of an eyesore, to me at least. But this database is really cool.
MK building, Wolverhampton School of Art, Wolverhampton, UK another wondrous structure
Such beautiful work for the most part.
Who let them build these things? They are prison factory bunkers!