BRUTALISM

UGLY OR ELEGANT?

Going into our first project, Retail Therapy 9, I became quite interested in concrete as a material. This inevitably led me down the route of brutalist architecture. I enjoy the concept of showing exposed concrete and embracing the material as something beautiful instead of ugly. Choosing concrete as my material of choice I ended up looking at many different examples of brutalist architecture for inspiration. This is a very divisive architectural style with many people loving it and plenty of people hating it. While looking into this it made me think of buildings in Glasgow that feature brutalist elements in their design. A few examples that came to mind were the Queen Margaret Union, the Savoy Centre and the GSA’s very own Bourdon Building. These are buildings that people may often think of as unattractive.

Queen Margaret Union

Savoy Centre

Bourdon Building

I feel like in many cases the dislike regarding brutalist structures is often related to how people perceive them. Many of these structures were built during times of struggle after the second world war, with a purpose of rebuilding at the cheapest price. Many of these buildings are therefore perceived in relation to lower income housing. The sad truth is that buildings in lower income areas are more likely to be neglected by the council and society. I think Glasgow in particular suffers from this with many potentially beautiful structures not necessarily left to rot but not maintained as well as they should be. When I think of these buildings my immediate thought is that they are ugly or unattractive in many ways. The rough grey exterior often covered in dirty roughcast leads these buildings to look poorly aged beside their elegant sandstone counterparts. I think the Bourdon and the QMU both have interesting visual elements with harsh angles and shapes with powerful overhangs giving a powerful sense of scale.

When searching around for inspiration I found plenty of stunning structures that use concrete and simplistic shapes in an effective way from around the world. A few of what I think are the most effective are shown below. Using such a simple and bland material and how this almost forces the design to take more drastic and striking directions. Using the harsh elements of shadow, depth, and scale to bring interest into a structure.

Telecommunication Centre, 1972-1981, Janko Konstantinov, Skopje, North Macedonia

I particularly found the telecommunication centre in Skopje an interesting application of this style. How the structure embraces circles and curves combined with a variety of different shapes makes the structure very appealing in a unique way. It looks old while also looking futuristic. It could easily be some set design on a sci-fi film. It was built to replace the existing Telecommunication centre that was destroyed in an earthquake in the 60s. This led to this obscure and intriguing design incorporating almost every type of geometric shape you could think of. Every angle of the building make it look like it could be a completely different structure. No two pictures of it are the same. This is probably my favourite example of this style, with so many different aspects to take inspiration from.

Geisal Library, William Pereira, 1970, San Diego, USA

The Geisal Library in San Diego is one of the more stunning examples of this style. Incorporating glass into the design in a genius way. A symmetrical superstructure expanding outwards as it rises into the sky, giving an almost threatening sense of scale. Just look at the comparison between these people standing below the large pillars that encase the structure. The glass bay windows across each symmetrical side give a very specific futuristic look which you don’t see on many of the other Brutalist structures from this time.

National Theatre, London, UK

An example a bit closer to home is the National Theatre in London. Again, this simplistic structure shows how good these buildings can look if properly maintained. I’m sure this wouldn’t look quite as good if it was covered in dirt and grime. With its clean surface finish and harsh edges, the theatre is pleasing and interesting from almost every angle, with the similar sense of amazing scale. The large overhangs can be seen towering over the people and streets below.

Habitat 67, Moshe Safdie, 1967 Montreal, Canada

Habitat 67 takes brutalism in a different direction by embracing ecological aspects within the simplistic structure. I find Eco-Brutalism to be a pleasant combination with the green and colourful natural elements contrasting perfectly with the bland concrete faces. This is one of the earliest examples of this, adding natural elements to offset the environmental footprint of using the harmful concrete material. A labyrinth of simple cube like apartments intertwining with trees and foliage. It’s simple and it’s effective.

These examples show, at least to me, that with a bit more love and care these buildings can be elegant when properly maintained but I do think it’s incredibly difficult to get right. Many poorly designed examples of Brutalism often give the style unfortunate negative connotations. When you move past this, you can see there is beauty in the simplicity of geometry and material choice. This is particularly effective when you implement it with natural elements to provide the interest.