Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
Bold and unforgiving, the Brutalist landmarks and modernist housing estates which sprang up across Europe in the wake of the Second World War still dominate cities in the former Eastern bloc. [...]
The Calvert Journal talked to designers and creatives across the New East who are now reclaiming socialist-era Brutalism as a driving force behind their work, changing mindsets, updating old designs for the modern age and making their own statements on gentrification, nostalgia and innovation.
— The Calvert Journal
The Brutalism-inspired design products by (mostly Eastern) European creatives Calvert Journal talked to range from stylish Russian flower vases to nostalgic Slovak pre-fab panelák furniture, German post-war housing cuckoo clocks, a Modernist Belgrade Map, and Polish miniature tower block... View full entry
With flawless blue skies and the latest landmarks of cutting edge design, postcards from across the Soviet Union were miniature propaganda posters for the success of the communist system.
Showcasing brutalist hotels, futurist TV towers, and bold concrete tower blocks, each image is a snapshot of the transformative decades between 1960 and 1990: from the endless optimism of Khrushchev's Thaw, to the closing years of the Cold War.
— calvertjournal.com
These Soviet Union postcards have been collected as part of a book project, Brutal Bloc Postcards, featuring some of the most iconic brutalist landmarks within the Eastern Bloc. Many of these structures are now abandoned, derelict, or completely gone. Take a look at this unique glimpse into the... View full entry
On August 24, 2018, the Atlanta Fulton Central Library was unanimously nominated to the National Register of Historic Places and listed on the Georgia Register of Historic Places by the Georgia National Register Review Board. It will now be sent to the National Park Service for listing on the National Register. Fulton County spoke in opposition to the nomination. [...]
Atlanta’s Central Library is currently closed for extensive renovations.
— Docomomo US
Previously: Central Atlanta Library: debate over adding windows to 'dark' Marcel Breuer building View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)... View full entry
The Pavilhão do Atlântico sports facility by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos was recently completed this year in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The brutalist gymnasium was built to serve both the local Pedro Barbosa School and community. Pavilhão do Atlântico by Valdemar Coutinho... View full entry
Depending on who you ask, brutalist buildings like the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C., are little more than misshapen mounds of concrete. But architecture professor Mark Pasnik says the structures were built with a much deeper meaning in mind.
"People think of them as communistic or as alienating," says Pasnik, who came to brutalism's defense in a recent Boston Globe op-ed.
— wbur.org
Architecture professor Mark Pasnik makes the argument for preservation of brutalist buildings in an opinion piece for the Boston Globe. Pasnik's piece was in response to Trumps recent outcry to tear down the FBI headquarters. He explains the style's history of material honesty, along with reasons... View full entry
Trump is obsessed with the FBI building. For months now, in meetings with White House officials and Senate appropriators intended to discuss big-picture spending priorities, the president rants about the graceless J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown Washington, D.C. — axios.com
President Trump has reportedly taken an interest in the FBI headquarters J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown DC, overseeing every detail of the project. While he recognizes the value of the property, the president is not a fan of brutalism. Trump complained, "Even the building is terrible... It's... View full entry
Kiev is a city of eclectic beauty, with modernist landmarks that dot the skyline. But as the capital grows and evolves, many of these Soviet-era gems are falling out of favour and into disrepair, with many already cleared away to make room for newer projects. — Calvert Journal
The short Soviet Modernism, Brutalism, Post-Modernism: Buildings and Projects in Ukraine from 1960 – 1990 was recently released in support of the upcoming book of the same title, examining some of Kiev's remarkable concrete architecture heritage. Still from Soviet Modernism, Brutalism... View full entry
Despite being recognized as an important architectural movement, many iconic examples of modernist architecture have been knocked down in the UK, and many more are threatened by alteration or demolition. From The Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth to Gilbey's Gin complex in Harlow, these illustrations... View full entry
Poland-based Zupagrafika has long made their fascination with Brutalism known, selling a range of pop-out and build concrete modernist structures from cities around the world. Now, the design studio has launched a new photo project for Brutalist fans to enjoy, that allows buyers to "remove the... View full entry
How could an architect who had made the pursuit of lightness the essence of his design aspirations become one of the great form-givers of the aesthetics of weightiness? — Places Journal
In this rich examination of the work of Marcel Breuer, Barry Bergdoll explores the marked shifts between his early European and later American work, and finds a constant in the pursuit of lightness. In his efforts to reconcile vernacular traditions with modern expression and the conditions of... View full entry
Artist Guido Zimmermann's Cuckoo Block series present a brutalist take on the traditional cuckoo clock design. Based in Germany, Zimmermann's pieces are largely inspired by local brutalist housing blocks found in Frankfurt and Berlin. He has also ventured out to create clocks based on notable... View full entry
It's been merely a month since rapper/entrepreneur/design aficionado Kanye West announced on Twitter that he would launch an architecture venture with his design firm, to be called YEEZY Home, and now first renderings have appeared on Instagram that list West among the designers. "Low income... View full entry
That we are now starting to get to grips with PoMo architecture’s controversial legacy is welcome, not least because other important buildings have already been destroyed, and others are threatened. [...]
Today the worlds of design and conservation are more closely allied than before. But even as this latest batch of postmodern buildings has won protected status, it is worth noting that important brutalist buildings are still excluded from the roster.
— The Guardian
Commentary by Catherine Croft for The Guardian on Historic England's recent selection of 17 postmodern buildings to be listed as heritage without extending the same love to important examples of the brutalist school. Recently received Grade II listed status: Judge Business School, University of... View full entry
Drilling holes—for windows, granted—into famed architect Marcel Breuer’s final project could cost $1 million, and preservationists are peeved such plans are still on the drafting board.
But despite community pushback, the window plans are still very much alive.
Tuesday night, a crowd again convened at downtown’s Central Atlanta Library, a Breuer-designed Brutalist building, to argue against aspects of the $50 million plan to renovate the 38-year-old structure.
— Curbed Atlanta
Current state of the Atlanta-Fulton Central Library building. Photo: Aleksandr Zykov/Flickr.To drill or not to drill—that's at the center of a heated debate between the Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System, who would like to see additional windows to bring some natural light into their aging... View full entry
