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Envisioned to reach a height of 100 feet, the piece, titled “Bust of a Woman,” was approved to tower over the campus of the University of South Florida (USF), with its single cutout eye gazing blankly at its surroundings. The project — which also involved construction of a new art center — had an estimated cost of $10 million, however, and university officials ended up killing it due to lack of funding. Picasso passed away in 1973, and his angular, hard-edged figure never came to fruition. — hyperallergic.com
Originally designed for a museum in Sweden, Picasso's "Bust of a Woman" was donated to USF in 1971 and would have been the tallest concrete sculpture in the world at that time. Visualization of Paul Rudolph’s building with Picasso’s sculpture. Image: USF Special Collection Library.He agreed... View full entry
Some treats should really go into an art gallery instead of your mouth.
Like these Brutalist-inspired delights by Danish designer and goldsmith Kia Utzon-Frank, which look like they've been chipped from the side of a concrete skyscraper.
— Mashable
If cold concrete surfaces AND sweet treats happen to be your kinda thang, then this is for you: London-based Danish designer/goldsmith Kia Utzon-Frank has developed her native country's flødeboller desserts in a béton brut look and now also offers masterclasses on how to make them... View full entry
Belgian maker of architectural prefabricated concrete elements, Enjoy Concrete, show us how the product can be the architecture in its most beautiful sense: when the company was in need of a new industrial facility in the small town of Veurne, they partnered with Govaert & Vanhoutte Architects... View full entry
Always wanted concrete walls? Now you can choose from a selection of Concrete Effect Wallpaper from murals wallpaper. Featuring the Brutalist Welbeck Street Mural option pictured above, the company offers multiple Brutalist choices of Cathedral, High Rise, London, or Metro. Most of mural... View full entry
As London’s Robin Hood Gardens [...] is destroyed despite a high-profile campaign to save it, we look at some cherished examples of modernist architecture from the 50s, 60s and 70s — The Guardian
Last month, the V&A announced that it had acquired a three-story segment of the Robin Hood Gardens council estate, an iconic and not uncontroversial example of brutalist architecture currently being demolished, to preserve a significant moment in history. The Guardian takes a look at other... View full entry
Since 2008, Solidia Technologies [...] has been quietly developing a new cement-making process that produces up to 70% fewer CO2 emissions at a cost that DeCristofaro claims is on par with or better than conventional cement.
Solidia, which was formed in a bid to commercialize ideas developed at Rutgers University in New Jersey, is not the first company to attempt to make environmentally friendly cement. But industry experts say it’s the most promising yet.
— Quartz
"Of course, the startup now needs to show that this lower-emission cement can be made into concrete that’s at least as good as others, and can be scaled up in a way that’s affordable," Quartz explains. "That’s what Solidia is working on right now." 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
Explore New York City the (mostly) old-fashioned way with the “Concrete New York” Map, the latest paper architectural map by Blue Crow Media. This unique two-sided city guide highlights a selection of NYC's most celebrated concrete buildings as a gateway to discovering historic gems like... View full entry
Spurred by concerns over climate change and the negative impacts of concrete manufacturing, architects and developers in France are increasingly turning to wood for their office towers and apartment complexes.
Concrete was praised through much of the 20th century for its flexibility, functionality, and relative affordability. [...] Today, however, wood is lauded for its smaller environmental footprint and the speed with which buildings can be assembled.
— Citylab
After the Sylmar quake, officials quickly updated building requirements to add more steel reinforcement to new concrete buildings. But there was no systematic effort by many governments around the world to address the defect in existing concrete buildings. — Los Angeles Times
California has numerous concrete buildings at risk of collapsing during a serious earthquake. The city of Los Angeles estimates having over 1500 buildings at risk. Structural engineers recommend accelerating the deadline for retrofit requirement. View full entry
Modern, steel-embedded concrete seawalls tend to need repair after a few decades of erosion from the endless procession of waves, but the Roman pier at Portus Cosanus in Orbetello, Italy has remained solid for almost two thousand years. Scientists have finally figured out the missing ingredient... View full entry
Blending elements of brutalism and pronounced geometric framing, the Murray Music House designed by Carazo Arquitectura is technically a single family home, designed for two parents and three children. The fundamental concept underlying its design is "Living Through the Experimentation," which... View full entry
While there's no word on what would happen if someone skinned their knee on this bacteria-infused concrete, the premise is certainly intriguing in theory: concrete that patches cracks in itself for up to 200 years after its initial formation. Here's a brief video outlining the process: View full entry
The family of Brutalist Maps architectural guide books just welcomed its newest member into this world and extends the reach to Australia: Brutalist Sydney Map—launched this week by Blue Crow Media in collaboration with Glenn Harper of @Brutalist_Project_Sydney and Senior Associate Architect... View full entry
By placing a semi-transparent facade onto a series of former industrial warehouses in Dubai, OMA has created an arts-oriented, multi-disclipinary space called "Concrete." The completed version doesn't quite match the firm's optimistic renderings (in part because the concrete ameliorating foliage... View full entry